r^ 


y^  > 


^^ 


■•  ^  -i^ 


A.- 


.%  , 


V  J     ■ 


'<^. 


■^4. 


■^ei<^&©(?<'^^9i9«^5'9-*-r><'9^ 


ilHEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY.!  j 

Princeton,  N.  J.  -c/j^^T  /|V 


BL  240  .W57  1837 

Wiseman,  Nicholas  Patrick, 

1802-1865. 
Twelve  lectures  on  the 

rnnnPYinn  hpt.ween  science 
Copy  1 


,iij),i  A-  ><>m-man  Piiblithe 


)  6 
TWELVE   LECTURES 


CONNEXION  BETWEEN  SCIENCE 


REVEALED  RELIGION. 


DELIVERED  IN  ROME 

BY 

NICHOLAS^ISEMAN,  D.  D. 

PRINCIPAL  OF  THE  ENGLISH  COLLEGE,,  AND  PROFESSOR  IN  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  ROME. 


(^■*«J0J^^3     (^JO     i-4-^     ^\    Ac\c 

"  Science  should  be  dedicated  to  the  service  of  religion." 

GuLisTAN,  viii.  4. 


FIRST  AMERICAN   FROM  THE  FIRST  LONDON  EDITION. 


ANDOVER: 

PUBLISHED    BY    GOULD    AND    NEWMAN. 
NEW-YORK: 

GOULD  AND  NEWMAN,  116  NASSAU  STREET. 

1837. 


ADVERTISEMENT 


TO    THE    AMERICAN    EDITION. 


There  are  several  schools,  or  colleges,  for  theological  educa- 
tion at  Rome,  established  for  the  benefit  of  students  from  various 
foreign  countries  ;  as  the  German,  the  English,  the  Scotch,  the 
Irish  colleges,  etc.  These  have  all  been  founded  by  donations 
from  pious  individuals.  They  have  in  general  a  Principal,  who 
is  of  the  same  nation  respectively  ;  they  stand  under  the  super- 
vision of  a  cardinal,  and  receive  the  special  attention  of  the  head 
of  the  Romish  church.  The  students  pursue  a  complete  course 
of  instruction  in  theology  ;  and  not  unfrequently  are  young  men 
of  intelligence  and  cultivated  minds.  Converts  from  foreign 
countries,  who  are  distinguished  for  talents,  are  here  sure  of  a 
good  reception  ;  and  such  persons  are  constantly  to  be  met  with 
in  these  institutions. 

At  the  head  of  the  English  college  is  Dr.  Wiseman,  the  au- 
thor of  the  Lectures  herewith  presented  to  the  American  public. 
He  was  born  in  Spain  of  English  parents.  He  is  about  forty 
years  of  age,  distinguished  for  his  modesty,  civility,  and  tolerance  ; 
and  has  inspired  his  pupils  with  such  interest  for  the  study  of  the 
German,  that  the  greater  part  of  them  learn  it.  In  1830,  he  had 
charge  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  young  Englishmen,  who  were 
preparing  for  the  service  of  the  Enghsh  Catholic  church.  Dr. 
Wiseman  published  in  1828,  at  Rome,  a  learned  work  of 
which  the  following  is  the  title  :    •'  Horae  Syriacac,  seu   commen- 


IV  ADVERTISEMENT. 

tationes  et  anecdota  res  vel  literas  Syiiacas  spectantia."  "  This 
work,"  says  Professor  Tholuck,  "  clearly  shows  a  thorough  ac- 
quaintance of  tlie  author  with  the  writings  of  Hug,  Bertholdt, 
Kuinoel,  Paulus,  Eichhorn,  etc.  which  the  papal  library  Minerva 
willingly  offers  to  all  who  have  received  the  'licenza.'  It  cannot 
indeed  be  said,  that  the  learning  of  the  author  has  been  here  ap- 
plied in  the  most  important  way,  nor  that  his  contributions  from 
unprinted  sources  are  adapted  to  attract  attention  in  any  high  de- 
gree. In  the  meantime,  tlie  second  part  of  this  work  will  con- 
tain, it  is  said,  subjects  of  much  higher  interest, — an  astrological 
document  of  the  Zabians  or  Christians  of  St.  John,  extracts  from 
the  Palestine-Syriac  version  of  the  Vatican  Codex  used  by 
Adler,  etc." 

During  the  last  year,  Dr.  Wiseman  delivered  lectures  in 
London  on  some  of  the  points  of  controversy  between  the  Ro- 
manists and  the  Protestants,  which,  it  is  said,  attracted  much  at- 
tention. 

In  the  Lectures  contained  in  the  present  volume,  the  allu- 
sions to  tlie  peculiar  theological  or  ecclesiastical  tenets  of  the  au- 
thor are  very  few,  and  comparatively  unimportant.  The  Protes- 
tant reader  may  peruse  entire  Lectures  without  entertaining  the 
suspicion  that  the  writer  of  them  is  a  member  of  the  '  mother 
church.'  In  the  few  passages  where  his  partialities  do  appear,  no 
candid  person  need  find  fault  or  pronounce  a  harsh  judgment. 
The  censure  v*  hich  Dr.  Wiseman  pronounces  on  some  protestant 
authors,  and  the  high  commendation  which  he  bestows  on  certain 
members  of  his  own  church,  will,  doubtless,  be  received  with 
some  grains  of  allowance.  We  are  not  certain  but  that  the  Papal 
church  in  Italy  has  received  at  his  hands  an  inordinate  share  of 
commendation  for  licr  liberality  towards  learning  and  learned  men. 
Of  the  general  excellcncr  of  these  Lectures,  there  can  be  but 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


one  opinion.  They  show  great  candor,  learning,  judgment,  and 
regard  for  the  authenticity  of  the  Christian  revelation.  The 
writer  has  here  concentrated  a  great  amount  of  facts  and  argu- 
ments, which  demonstrate  that  the  Author  of  nature  is  the  same 
with  the  Author  of  Revelation,  that  Science  and  Revelation  will 
never  be  found  ultimately  at  variance  with  each  other,  and 
that  the  latter  has  nothing  to  fear,  but  every  thing  to  hope  from 
the  progress  of  the  former.  The  reader  who  is  familiar  with  the 
labors  of  Humboldt,  Young,  Klaproth,  the  Schlegels,  Prichard, 
Champollion,  Bopp,  Wilkinson,  Rosellini,  and  others,  will  find 
little  which  is  new  in  these  Lectures.  But  to  the  great  mass  of 
the  educated  community  they  will  be  full  of  interest  and  novelty. 
They  shed  no  incqjsj.derablenl^lTt  on  the  path  pf  the  student 
of  nature  and  the  studient  of  revllp:tioa  A  Tfe^slibw  how  utterly 
futile  are  all  the  labors  and 'expectations  of  the  infidel.  God  will 
be  glorified,  as  his  intelligent  creatures  behold  the  wonderful  har- 
mony between  his  Works  and  his  Word. 


PREFACE. 


In  the  following  Lectures,  the  reader  will  hardly  fail  to  ob- 
serve a  certain  want  of  harmony  between  the  different  parts  ; 
and  I  know  not  how  I  can  better  apologize  for  it,  than  by  briefly 
stating  the  manner  and  occasion  of  their  composition.  They 
were  first  drawn  up  for  private  instruction,  and  read  by  me  in  the 
English  College  at  Rome,  over  which  I  have  the  happiness  of 
presiding  ;  being  intended  for  an  introductory  course  to  the  study 
of  theology.  At  the  request  of  several  friends,  I  was  induced  to 
deliver  them  to  a  public  audience  ;  and  during  the  Lent  of  1835, 
they  were  read  to  a  large  and  select  attendance  in  the  apartments 
of  His  Eminence  Cardinal  Weld. 

It  will  be  easily  understood,  how  many  modifications  were 
requisite  for  the  second  delivery  ;  particularly  as  I  pledged  my- 
self in  my  prospectus  to  simpHfy  my  subjects,  so  far  as  to  make 
them  intelligible  to  persons  who  had  no  previous  acquaintance 
with  them.  Accordingly  many  topics  were  but  lightly  touched, 
which  in  the  original  draught,  had  been  more  fully  developed, 
while  others  were  extended  to  a  length  unnecessary  for  an  aca- 
demical audience  possessed  of  preliminary  scientific  knowledge. 
In  fact,  the  greater  part  of  the  Lectures  were  written  over  again 
for  the  occasion. 

Among  my  audience  I  counted  men,  whose  reputation,  in 
their  respective  departments  of  literature  and  science,  might  have 
made  me  shrink   from  my  complicated  task  ;    yet  I  found   them 


VIU  PREFACE. 

assiduous  in  their  attendance,  and  encouraging  in  their  judgment. 
They  joined  in  a  wish  repeatedly  expressed  by  most  of  my  hear- 
ers, that  these  Lectures  should  be  communicated  to  the  public  : 
and  I  came  over  to  England,  chiefly  to  carry  this  desire  into  exe- 
cution. But  then  a  further  change  appeared  necessary  to  pre- 
pare them  for  the  press. 

In  the  first  place,  many  of  the  parts  which  had  been  sup- 
pressed in  the  second  delivery,  have  been  restored  ;  while  seve- 
ral elementary  details,  which  were  then  introduced,  have  not 
been  withdrawn.  I  wished  to  make  the  work  interesting  to  dif- 
ferent classes  of  readers ;  and  hoped  that  the  intermixture  of  some 
few  topics,  more  exclusively  addressed  to  the  learned,  would  not 
detract  from  the  interest  which  the  general  plan  might  possess  for 
the  ordinary  reader.  Still,  a  certain  incongruity  must  thence 
result ;  as  some  passages  will  appear  addressed  to  a  different  au- 
dience from  the  greater  part  of  the  course. 

The  second  cause  of  change  is,  perhaps,  more  satisfactory. 
My  long  residence  abroad  had  debarred  me  from  the  consultation 
of  several  modern  works,  treating  on  the  subjects  of  these  Lec- 
tures, so  that  in  regard  to  English  books,  I  might  say  with  the 
poet — 

"  duod  SI  scriptorum  non  magna  est  copia  apud  me 
Hoc  fit  quod  Romse  vivimiis,  ilia  domus."* 

Now  the  perusal  of  these  caused  occasional  modifications  in  the 
opinions  which  I  had  previously  adopted.  But  even  when  a  work 
has  appeared  since  the  delivery  of  the  Lectures,  I  have  thought  it 
advisable  to  introduce  the  mention  of  it  into  the  text,  rather  than 
omit  it  to  avoid  an  anachronism.  On  the  whole,  I  am  sensible 
that  I  have  had  neither  leisure  nor  opportunity  to  improve  them 


*  Catullus  ad  Manliiun,  33. 


PREFACE.  IX 

as  might  be  expected,  and  that  many  more  works  might  have 
been  perused  or  consuhed  by  me  to  great  advantage. 

The  form,  therefore,  in  which  my  humble  kicubrations  ap- 
pear before  the  public,  is  that  of  a  third  modification ;  and  if  the 
observation  be  true,  that  second  thoughts  are  not  the  best,  but 
third  thoughts,  which  correct  the  second,  and  bring  them  back  in 
part  to  the  more  vivid  and  natural  impressions  exhibited  in  the 
first,*  I  may  appear  to  present  this  little  narrative  of  what  I  have 
done,  rather  in  the  form  of  a  recommendation,  than  of  an 
apology. 

But  from  my  heart,  I  can  say,  that  no  reader's  eye,  however 
keen,  will  be  more  sensible  than  mine  is,  to  the  imperfections  of 
my  work.  The  subjects  of  which  it  treats  are  varied,  and  have 
rather  formed  a  relaxation  from  severer  pursuits,  than  objects  of 
professed  research.  That  its  numerous  faults  will  be  observed, 
and  perhaps  severely  criticised,  I  must  naturally  expect.  Still  I 
shall  always  feel,  that  the  cause  which  I  plead,  may  well  throw 
some  of  its  protection  over  its  least  worthy  advocates,  and  con- 
ciliate the  benevolence  of  all  that  revere  and  love  it.  To  suc- 
ceed in  its  behalf,  would,  indeed,  be  glorious  ;  but  the  attempt — 
the  labor  of  which,  in  this  case,  has  not  been  small — cannot  sure- 
ly be  divested  of  all  merit ;  and  I  shall  gladly  hail  the  augury  of 
the  indulgent  reader,  if,  at  the  conclusion  of  this  my  proeme,  he 
address  me  in  the  words  of  the  poet — 

Miyctg  uywv  /.ifyaku  S    fnivosig  sXnv 
Mamgioc  ys  [xr\v  xvQrjaag  east, ' 
nONO:S  /fETKAEHS. 

EuRip.  Rhes.  Act.  i.  V.  195.t 


*  "  Guesses  at  Truth." 

i  Great  is  the  cause,  and  great  thine  aim  ; 

Thrice  happy,  if  success  shall  claim 
Its  due  reward  :  yet  honored  still 

May  be  the  labor  and  the  will. 

b 


CONTENTS. 


LECTURE  I. 
On  the  Comparative  Study  of   Languages  9 

LECTURE  II. 

The  same  subject  continued  .....       47 

LECTURE  III. 
On  the  Natural  History  of  the  Human  Race     .  91 

LECTURE    IV. 
The  same  subject  continued  129 

LECTURE  V. 
On  the  Natural  Sciences 157 

LECTURE   VI. 

The  same  subject  continued 193 

LECTURE  VII. 
On  Early  History  221 

LECTURE  VIII. 
The  .same  subject  continued  251 


Xn  CONTENTS. 

LECTURE   IX. 
On   ARCHiEOLOGY  ........      281 

LECTURE  X. 
On  Oriental  Literature 309 

LECTURE   XI. 
The  same  subject  continued  349 

LECTURE  XII. 
Conclusion  377 


LECTURE  THE  FIRST; 


COMPARATIVE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGES. 


PART  I. 


GENERAL  INTRODUCTION. 

Relation  of  these  Lectures  to  tlie  Christian  Evidences Method  to  be 

therein  followed.  —  Resuhs  to  he  anticipated. 

ETHNOGRAPHY, 

Or  comparative  study  of  languages. — History — First  period  ;  Search 
after  the  jirimary  language  ;  defects  in  the  object  and  methods. — 
Second  period  ;  Collection  of  materials  ;  lists  of  words,  and  series 
of  Our  fathers. — Third  period  ;  Attempts  at  arrangement  and  classifi- 
cation ;  Leibnitz,  Hervas,  Catherine  II,  and  Pallas,  Adelung  and 
Vater. — Dangerous  apjiearaiice  of  the  study  at  this  period,  from  the 
apparent  multi|jlicntion  of  independent  languages. — Results — First; 
Formation  of  families,  or  large  groups  of  languages  in  close  affinity 
by  words  and  granimatical  forms — Exemplification  in  the  Indo- 
European,  Semitic,  and  Malayan,  families. — Second  ;  Progressive 
reduction  of  supposed  independent  languages  into  coimexion  with 
the  great  families  ;  Ossete,  Armenian,  Celtic. — Review  of  Sir  W. 
Betham's  System  ;  Dr.  Prichard.  —  Recapitulation  ;  Concluding 
Remarks. 

Were  it  given  unto  us  to  contenhplate  God's  works  in  the  visible 
and  in  the  moral  world,  not  as  we  now  see  them,  in  shreds  and  little 
fragments,  but  as  woven  together  into  the  great  web  of  universal  har- 
mony ;  could  our  minds  take  in  each  part  thereof,  with  its  general  and 
particular  connexions,  relations,  and  appliances,  —  there  can  be  no 
doubt  but  religion,  as  established  by  Him,  would  appear  to  enter,  and 
fit  so  completely  and  so  necessarily  into  the  general  plan,  as  that  all 
would  be  unravelled  and  destroyed,  if  by  any  means  it  should  be 
withdrawn.  And  such  a  view  of  its  interweaving  with  the  whole 
2 


10  LECTURE    THE    FIRST. 

economy  and  fabric  of  nature,  would  doubtless  be  the  highest  order 
of  evidence  which  could  be  given  us  of  its  truth.  But  this  is  the 
great  difference  between  Nature's  and  man's  operation,  that  she  fash- 
ioneth  and  moulds  all  the  parts  of  her  works  at  once,  while  he  can 
apply  himself  only  to  the  elaboration  of  one  single  part  at  a  time  ;* 
and  hence  it  comes,  that  in  all  our  researches,  the  successive  and 
partial  attention  which  we  are  obliged  to  give  to  separate  evidences 
or  proofs,  doth  greatly  weaken  their  collective  force.  For  as  the 
illustrious  Bacon  hath  well  remarked,  "  the  harmony  of  the  sciences, 
that  is,  when  each  part  supports  the  other,  is,  and  ought  to  be  the 
true  and  brief  way  of  confutation  and  suppression  of  all  the  smaller 
sort  of  objections  ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  if  you  draw  out  every  axiom, 
like  the  sticks  of  a  faggot,  one  by  one,  you  may  easily  quarrel  with 
them,  and  bend  and  break  them  at  your  pleasure. "t 

To  the  difficulties  thus  thrown  in  our  way  by  the  limitation  of  our 
faculties,  prejudices  of  venerable  standing  have  added  much.  For 
ages  it  has  been  considered,  by  many,  useless  and  almost  profane, 
to  attempt  any  marriage  between  theology  and  the  other  sciences. 
Some  men  in  their  writings,  and  many  in  their  discourse,  go  so  far 
as  to  suppose  that  they  may  enjoy  a  dualism  of  opinions,  holding  one 
set  which  they  believe  as  Christians,  and  another  whereof  they  are 
convinced  as  philosophers.  Such  a  one  will  say,  that  he  believes  the 
Scriptures,  and  all  that  they  contain  ;  but  will  yet  uphold  some  system 
of  chronology  or  history,  which  can  nowise  be  reconciled  therewith. 
One  does  not  see  how  it  is  possible  to  make  accordance  between  the 
Mosaic  creation  and  Cuvier's  discoveries;  another  thinks  the  history 
of  the  dispersion  incompatible  with  the  number  of  dissimilar  lan- 
guages now  existing  ;  a  third  considers  it  extremely  difficult  to  ex- 
plain the  origin  of  all  mankind  from  one  common  parentage.  So  far, 
therefore,  from  considering  religion,  or  its  science  theology,  as  enti- 
tled to  sisterhood  with  other  sciences,  it  is  supposed  to  move  on  a 
distinct  plane,  and  preserve  a  perpetual  parallelism  with  thera,  which 
prevents  them  all  from  clashing,  as  it  deprives  them  of  mutual  sup- 
port.    Hence  too  it  is  no  wonder  that  theology  should  be  always  con- 


*  "For  as  when  a  carver  cuts  and  graves  an  image,  he  shapes  only 
that  part  whereupon  he  works,  and  not  tiie  rest;  but  contrariwise, 
when  Nature  makes  a  flower  or  living  creature,  she  engenders  and 
brings  forth  rudiments  of  all  the  parts  at  once."  —  Bacon,  De  Augm. 
Sclent.  I.  vii.  p.  360,  Trans.  Oxf.  1640. 

f  Bacon,  De  Augm.  Scient.  I.  vii.  p.  330. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  11 

sidered  a  Study  purely  professional,  and  devoid  of  general  interest; 
and  that  it  should  be  deemed  impossible  to  invest  its  researches  with 
those  varied  charms  that  attract  us  to  other  scientific  inquiries.* 

Reflections  such  as  these  have  led  me  to  the  attempt  whereupon 
I  enter  to-day  ;  the  attempt,  that  is  to  bring  theology  somehow  into 
the  circle  of  the  other  sciences,  by  showing  how  beautifully  it  is  illus- 
trated, supported,  and  adorned  by  them  all ;  to  prove  how  justly  the 
philosopher  should  bow  to  her  decisions,  with  the  assurance  that  his 
researches  will  only  confirm  them  ;  to  demonstrate  the  convergence 
of  truths  revealed  with  truths  discovered  ;  and,  however  imperfectly, 
to  present  you  with  some  such  picture  as  Homer  hath  described  upon 
his  hero's  shield  ;  of  things  and  movements  heavenly,  that  appertain 
unto  a  higher  sphere,  hemmed  round  and  embellished  by  the  repre- 
sentations of  earthlier  and  homelier  pursuits. 

My  purpose,  therefore,  in  the  course  of  lectures  to  which  I  have 
invited  you,  is  to  show  the  correspondence  between  the  progress  of 
science,  and  the  development  of  the  Christian  evidences  ;  and 
before  proceeding  further,  I  must  be  allowed  to  explain  the  terms 
and  limits  of  my  inquiries.  By  the  simple  statement  of  my  theme, 
it  will  be  seen  that  I  do  not  intend  to  enter  upon  the  well-occupied 
field  of  natural  theology,  or  to  apply  the  progress  of  science  to  the 
increasing  proof  thereby  gained,  of  a  wise  all-ruling  Providence.  It 
is  of  revealed  religion  alone  that  I  mean  to  treat  —  of  the  evidences 
which  Christianity  has  received  in  its  numberless  connexions  with 
the  order  of  nature,  or  the  course  of  human  events.  And  when  I  use 
the  word  evidences,  I  must  be  understood  in  a  very  wide  and  general 
signification.  I  consider  that  whatever  tends  to  prove  the  truth  of 
any  narrative  in  the  sacred  volume,  especially  if  that  narrative,  to 
merely  human  eyes,  appears  improbable,  or  irreconcilable  with  other 
facts,  tends  also  essentially  to  increase  the  sum  of  evidence  which 
Christianity  possesses,  resting,  as  it  essentially  does,  upon  the  authen- 
ticity of  that  book.  Any  discovery,  for  instance,  that  a  trifling  date, 
till  lately  inexplicable,  is  quite  correct,  besides  the  satisfaction  it  gives 
upon  an  individual  point,  has  a  far  greater  moral  weight  in  the 
assurance  it  affords  of  security  in  other  matters.     And  hence  a  long 

*  For  a  view  of  the  unsatisfactory  method  by  which  the  French 
eclectic  school  attempts  at  ouce  to  separate  and  reconcile  science  and 
revelation,  see  Dainiron,  Essai  sur  VHisloire  de  la  Pldlosophie  en 
France  ;  BruxeUes,  1829,  pp.  471 — 474  ;  or,  Carove,  Der  Saint  Simon- 
iamus  und  die  neuere  Philosophic  ;  Leips.  1831,  p.  42. 


12  LECTURE    THE    FIRST. 

research,  which  will  lead  to  a  discovery  of  apparently  mean  impor- 
tance, must  be  measured  according  to  this  general  influence,  rather 
than  by  its  immediate  results. 

But  while,  as  has  been  observed,  it  is  the  interest  of  those  who 
search  after  truth,  to  generalize  their  proofs  as  much  as  possible,  and 
take  their  stand  upon  the  broadest  ground,  those  who  attack  it  will 
ever  find  their  greatest  advantage  in  particular  objections,  and  piece- 
meal destruction.  And  such,  on  their  part,  has  been  the  policy  pur- 
sued. Each  science  has  been  individually  ransacked,  and  many 
partial  results  of  each  separately  urged,  as  sufficient  to  overthrow  the 
defences  of  Christianity.  These  repeated  attempts  must  form  an 
additional  motive  for  inquiry  into  the  real  results  of  modern  science. 
It  is  true  that  the  Christian  revelation  rests  upon  general  arguments, 
not  easily  shaken  by  particular  objections.  It  is  true  that  its  evi- 
dence, external  and  internal,  consists  of  numerous  and  various  con- 
siderations, dove-tailed  and  rivetted  so  strongly  together,  that  a  par- 
tial attack  upon  one  point,  is  borne  by  the  rest ;  so  that  we  incur 
greater  difficulties  by  supposing  the  whole  system  of  Christianity  false 
in  consequence  of  a  particular  objection,  than  we  do  by  confessing 
our  inability  to  answer,  and  adhering  nevertheless  to  the  cause  which 
it  impugns. 

But  although  the  less  instructed  Christian  may  thus  preserve  his 
conviction  undisturbed  by  difficulties  whereunto  he  sees  not  the 
immediate  answer,  there  is  another  method  of  proceeding  more  satis- 
factory, more  interesting,  and  to  those  who  have  the  power,  almost 
of  obligation  ;  that  is,  boldly  and  patiently  to  examine  the  objections, 
and  solve  them  individually  ;  and  for  this  purpose,  to  neglect  no 
means  within  their  reach,  of  procuring  the  necessary  information. 
Of  our  ultimate  and  complete  success,  we  cannot  allow  ourselves  to 
entertain  a  doubt. 

Causa  jubet  uielior  superos  sfjerare  socundos. 

If  we  are  firmly  convinced  that  God  is  as  much  the  author  of  our 
religion,  as  he  is  of  nature,  we  must  be  also  thoroughly  assured,  that 
the  comparison  of  his  works,  in  both  these  orders,  must  necessarily 
give  a  uniforifl  result.  An  essential  part  of  my  task  will  therefore 
be,  to  show  how  the  very  sciences,  whence  objections  have  been 
drawn  against  religion,  have  themselves,  in  their  progress,  entirely 
removed  them;  and  hence  my  method  of  treating  each  science,  with 
one  or  two  e.\ccptions,   will  neccbourily  be  historical.     I  shall  thus 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES. 


13 


avoid  an  important  difficulty  —  tliat  of  supposing  all  tny  hearers  fur- 
nished with  an  accurate  knowledge  of  so  many  difterent  pursuits. 
Instead  of  this,  I  flatter  myself,  that  while  I  show  the  signal  service 
rendered  to  religion  by  the  progress  of  each  science,  1  shall  present 
a  short  and  simple  introduction  to  its  history  and  principles. 

We  shall  see  how  the  early  stage  of  each  furnished  objections  to 
religion,  to  the  joy  of  the  infidel  and  the  dismay  of  the  believer  ;  how 
many  discouraged  these  studies  as  dangerous  ;  and  then  how,  in  their 
advance,  they  first  removed  the  difficulties  drawn  from  their  imper- 
fect state,  and  then  even  replaced  them  by  solid  arguments  in  favor 
of  religion.  And  hence  we  shall  feel  warranted  in  concluding,  that 
it  is  essentially  the  interest  of  religion  to  encourage  the  pursuit  of 
science  and  literature,  in  their  various  departments. 

In  the  arrangement  of  my  subjects,  while  I  pay  attention  to  a 
certain  natural  order  of  connexion,  I  shall  also  be  anxious  to  give 
them  an  increasing  interest  ;  and  I  almost  fear  I  have  been  guilty  of 
an  error  in  tactics,  by  placing  in  my  front  the  science  whereupon  I 
now  enter,  as  it  can  hardly  possess  the  general  interest  of  most  that 
will  follow  it,  though  I  trust  it  will  fully  justify  all  I  have  advanced 
in  these  preliminary  remarks.  I  mean  Ethnography,  or  the  classifi- 
cation of  nations  from  the  comparative  study  of  languages,  a  science 
born,  I  may  say,  almost  within  our  memory. 

This  science  has  also  been  properly  called  by  the  French  Lin- 
guistique,  or  the  study  of  language  ;  and  is  also  known  by  the  name 
of  comparative  philology.  These  names  will  sufficiently  declare  the 
objects  and  methods  of  the  study  ;  and  I  will  not  premise  any  other 
definition,  as  I  trust  you  will  gradually,  as  my  subject  unfolds,  become 
acquainted  with  its  entire  range. 

I  enter  upon  it  with  the  full  consciousness  of  the  difficulties  which 
surround  it ;  it  is  a  science  which  has  yet  found  no  historian,  and 
hardly  possesses  any  elementary  works  ;  and  I  have  had  to  collect 
from  many  writers  the  materials  for  the  sketch  which  I  shall  endea- 
vor to  present  to  you  ;  it  is  indeed  by  the  simple  history  of  this 
science,  that  we  shall  see  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  dispersion  of 
mankind  most  pleasingly  confirmed. 

I  need  hardly  recal  to  your  memories  this  remnant  of  early 
history.  That  mankind  descended  from  one  family,  spoke  but  one 
language ;  that,  in  consequence  of  their  being  united  in  a  design 
which  accorded  not  with  the  views  of  Providence,  the  Almighty  con- 
founded  their   speech,   and    introduced   among   them   a  variety  of 


14  LECTURE    THE    FIRST. 

(bngues,  which  produced  a  general  dispersion  ;  sucli  in  brief  are  the 
outlines  of  this  venerable  history,  recorded  in  the  eleventh  chapter 
of  Genesis. 

Commentators  upon  this  passage  have  generally  considered  that 
this  confusion  consisted,  not  so  much  in  the  abolition  of  the  common 
tongue,  as  in  the  introduction  of  such  a  variety  of  modifications  in  it, 
as  would  suffice  to  effect  the  dispersion  of  the  human  race.  In  fact, 
it  was,  only  on  this  hypothesis,  that  the  long  and  useless  search  after 
the  original  language  could  have  been  conducted. 

But  the  whole  of  this  narrative  is  of  course  treated  by  the  adver- 
saries of  revelation  as  a  fable,  or  a  mythus*  We  may  allow  philoso- 
phers, indeed,  to  discuss  such  abstract  questions,  as  whether  speech 
could  have  been  the  gradual  invention  of  the  human  species,  or  must 
have  been  the  free  gift  of  God,  as  Dr.  Johnson,  Anton,  and  Bonald, 
maintain  ;t  or  neither  a  pure  gift  nor  an  invention,  but,  according  to 
the  later  theory  of  the  lamented  Humboldt,  a  necessary  and  sponta- 
neous result  of  man's  organization.^  We  might  even  allow  them  the 
innocent  amusement  of  discussing  whether  such  an  invention  would 
have  begun  by  substantives,  as  Dr.  Smith  is  of  opinion, §  or  by  inter- 


*  "The  book  of  Genesis  veiled,  in  a  significant  expressive  7nythus,a. 
problem  which  no  philosophy  has  satisfactorily  solved."  Gesenius, 
Geschichte  der  hebrdischen  Sprachc  und  Schrift.  Leip.  1815,  p.  13.  See 
Geddes's  Preface  to  his  Translation  of  the  Pentateuch,  1792,  p.  11. 

f  Boswell's  Life,  first  ed.  vol,  ii.  p.  447.  R.  G.  Anton,  Ueber 
Sprache,  in  Riicksicht  auf  Geschichte  der  Menschen.  Goiiitz,  1799,  p.  31. 
—  Beattie's  Theory  of  Language  ;  London,  1788,  p.  95.  Tills  position 
is  the  basis  of  Bonald's  system,  and  is  warmly  attacked  by  Datniron, 
uhi  sup.  p.  224,  Cousin,  Preface  to  Maine  de  Biran's  JVouvelles  Conside- 
rations, Paris,  1834,  p.  15  ;  and  many  others. 

J  "Speech,  according  to  my  fullest  conviction,  must  really  be  con- 
sidered as  inherent  in  man  ;  since  as  the  work  of  his  intellect  in  its 
simple  knowledge,  it  is  absolutely  inexplicable.  This  hypothesis  is 
facilitated  by  supposing  thousands  and  thousands  of  years  ;  language 
could  not  have  been  invented  without  its  type  jireexisting  in  man." 
After  several  highly  interesting  remarks,  he  proceeds  to  observe,  that 
still  language  must  not  be  considered  as  a  gift  bestowed  ready  formed 
to  tnan,  (etwas  fertig  gegebenes)  but  as  something  corning  from  himself. 
"  Ueber  das  vergleichendes  Sprachstudium,  in  Beziehung  auf  die  ver- 
schiedenen  E[)ochcn  der  Sprachentwickelung."  In  the  Acts  of  the 
R.  Academy  of  Sciences  of  Berlin  ;  historical  and  philosophical  class, 
1820—21.  Berlin,  1822,  p.  247. 

§  Theory  of  Moral  sentiments :  Edinb,  1813,  vol.  ii.  p.  364. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  15 

jections,  as  the  president  De  Brosses  and  Herder  conjecture.*  So 
long  as  an  imaginary  theatre  is  supposed  for  the  actors  in  such  a  dis- 
covery, so  long  as  we  speak  with  the  president,'of  children  abandoned 
to  the  tuition  of  nature,  or  with  Soave,  of  two  insulated  savages,  the 
field  is  open,  and  the  disquisition  without  danger. 

But  other  writers  hfive  transferred  their  speculations  upon  this 
subject  to  the  dominion  of  history  ;  Maupertuis,  for  instance,  supposes 
the  human  race  to  have  been  originally  without  speech,  till  its  dif- 
ferent divisions  gradually  invented  separate  dialects.t  Rousseau 
and  Volney  represent  man  as  the  "  mutum  et  turpe  pecus"  of  the 
ancients,  "  thrown,  according  to  the  words  of  the  latter,  as  it  were  by 
chance,  on  a  confused  and  savage  land,  an  orphan,  abandoned  by 
the  unknown  hand  that  had  produced  him,"|  and  left  to  discover  the 
first  elements  of  social  life,  much  on  the  principle,  and  by  the  process 
described  in  the  Epicurean  poet : 

"  Ergo  si  variei  sensus  animalia  cogunt 
Mutii  tatnen  quom  sint,  varias  emittere  voces  ; 
Qiianto  inortaleis  magis  fequimi  est  turn  potuisse 
Dissimileis  alia  atque  alia  res  voce  notare."§ 

This  view  of  the  origin  of  language  is  not  unfrequently  repeated 
at  the  present  day.  Charles  Nodier  published  a  series  of  articles, 
entitled  Notions  elementaires  de  Linguistique,  in  the  Temps  paper 
for  September  and  October,  1833,  wherein  he  maintains  that  lan- 
guages were  the  handywork  of  human  powers  acting  by  themselves. 
Even  writers,  who  were  never  suspected  of  having  entertained  opin- 
ions at  variance  with  the  inspired  narrative,  appear  sometimes  to 
indulge  in  the  same  imagination. |1 

The  Marquis  de  Fortia  d'Urban  goes  further,  and  denies  at  once 


*  De  Brosses,  Trait6  de  la  Formation  M^chanique  des  Langues, 
(anonym.) :  Paris,  1765,  torn.  ii.  p.  220.  —  Herder  Nouveaux  M6moires 
de  I'Academie  R.  des  Sciences:  Berlin,  1783,  p.  382. 

f  Dissertation  sin*  les  differens  moyens  dont  les  hommes  se  sont 
servis  pour  exprinier  leurs  idees.  —  Hist,  de  I'Academie  Roy.  Berlin, 
1756,  p.  335. 

I  Ruines  :  Paris,  1825,  p.  37.  —  Causes  de  l'In6galite  entre  les 
Hommes,  CEuvres  completes  :  Paris,  1826,  p.  40. 

§  Lucret.  /.  v.  1086. 

II  For  instance,  Dr.  Murray,  in  his  History  of  European  Languages  : 
Edinb.  1823,  vol.  i.  p.  28. 


16 


LECTIRE    THF.     FIRST. 


the  history  of  the  dispersion  as  given  by  Moses,  and  indeed  the  in- 
spiration of  the  historical  narratives  of  Scripture.* 

The  inquiry,  when  thus  considered,  seems  to  involve  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  Mosaic  documents  touching  the  early  history  of  man. 
It  then  becomes  our  duty  to  investigate  the  very  study  which  gave 
birth  or  strength  to  such  objections  :  and  we  shall  soon  perceive  that 
the  nearer  it  has  advanced  towards  perfection,  the  more  it  has  con- 
firmed the  veracity  of  the  Jewish  historian. 

The  history  of  the  comparative  study  of  languages  presents  the 
same  features  in  the  moral  sciences,  which  chemistry  does  among 
physical  pursuits.  While  the  latter  was  engaged  in  a  fruitless  chase 
of  the  philosopher's  stone,  or  a  remedy  for  every  disease,  the  linguists 
were  occupied  in  the  equally  fruitless  search  after  the  primary  lan- 
guage. In  the  course  of  both  inquiries,  many  important  and  unex- 
pected discoveries  were  doubtless  made  ;  but  it  was  not  till  a  princi- 
ple of  analytical  investigation  was  introduced  in  both,  that  the  real 
nature  of  their  objects  was  ascertained,  and  results  obtained,  far  more 
valuable  than  had  first  caused  and  encouraged  so  much  toilsome 
application. 

The  desire  of  verifying  the  Mosaic  history,  or  the  ambition  of 
knowing  the  language  first  communicated  by  divine  inspiration,  was 
the  motive  or  impulse  of  the  old  linguists'  chimerical  research.  For, 
it  was  argued,  if  it  can  only  be  shown  that  there  exists  some  lan- 
guage, which  contains,  as  it  were,  the  germ  of  all  the  rest,  and  forms 
a  centre  whence  all  others  visibly  diverge,  then  the  confusion  of 
Babel  receives  a  striking  confirmation  ;  for  that  language  must  have 
been  once  the  common  speech  of  mankind. 

But  here  such  a  host  of  rivals  entered  the  lists,  and  their  conflict- 
ing pretensions  were  advanced  with  such  assurance,  or  such  plausi- 
bility, as  rendered  a  satisfactory  decision  perfectly  beyond  hope. 

The  Celtic  language  found  a  zealous  patron  in  the  learned 
Pezron  ;t  the  claims  of  the  Chinese  were  warmly  advocated  by 
Webb,  and  several  other  writers. |  Even  in  our  own  times  — 
for  the  race  of  such  visionaries   is  not  yet  extinct  —  Don  Pedro 


*  Essai  sur  I'Ongine  do  I'Ecriture:  Paris,  1832,  p.  10. 

t  Antiquit6  de  la  Nation  et  de  la  Langue  des  Celtes,  Paris,  1704. 

I  Essay  on  the  probability  that  the  Languajre  of  China  is  the  primi- 
tive Language  ;  Lotid.  1669.  The  antiquity  of  China  ;  or,  an  Histori- 
cal Essay  endeavoring  a  probability  that  the  Language  of  China  is  the 
primitive  Language.     Ibid.  1678. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES. 


17 


de  Astarloa,*  Don  Thomas  de  Sorreguieta,!  and  the  Abbe  d'Uiarce- 
Bidassouet-d'Aroztegai,t  have  taken  the  field  as  champions  of  the 
Biscayan,  with  equal  success  as  in  former  times,  the  very  erudite  and 
unwieldy' Goropius  Becanus  brought  up  his  native  Low  Dutch  as  the 
language  of  the  terrestrial  paradise.§ 

Notwithstanding  these  ambitious  pretensions,  the  Semitic  lan- 
guages, as  they  are"  called,  that  is,  the  languages  of  Western  Asia, 
seemed  to  be  the  favored  claimants  ;  but  alas!  even  here  there  was 
rivalry  among  the  sisters.  The  Abyssinians  boasted  their  language 
to  be  the  mother  stock,  from  which  even  Hebrew  had  sprung  ;|1  a 
host  of  Syriac  authors  traced  the  lineal  descent  of  their  speech  through 
Heber,  from  Noah  and  Adam  .^  but  Hebrew  was  the  pretender  that 
collected  the  most  numerous  suffrages  in  its  favor.  From  the 
Antiquities  of  Josephus,  and  the  Targums,  or  Chaldee  paraphrases 
of  Onkelos  and  of  Jerusalem,**  down  to  Anton  in  I800,tt  Christians 
and  Jews  considered  its  pretensions  as  almost  definitely  decided  ; 
and  names  of  the  highest  rank  in  literature,  Lipsius,  Scahger, 
Bochart,  and  Vossius,  have  trusted  the  truth  of  many  of  their  theories 
to  the  certainty  of  this  opinion. 

The  learned  and  judicious  Molitor,  however,  who  has  brought  an 
immense  store  of  Rabbinical  literature  to  bear  upon  the  demonstra- 
tion of  the  Catholic  religion,  which  he  has  embraced,  acknowledges 
that  "  the  Jewish  tradition  which  makes  Hebrew  the  language  of  the 

*  Apolocria  de  la  Lengua^Bascongada,  o  Ensayo  critico-filosofico  de 
su  perfeccion  y  antiguedad  sobre  todas  las  que  se  conocen.  Madrid, 
1803. 

I  Semana  HisiJaHa-Bascongada  la  uuica  de  la  Europa,  y  la  mas 
aiuigua  del  orbe.     Ibid.  1804. 

I  See  his  prospectus  published  in  the  French  Journals,  1824.  His 
work  has,  1  believe,  since  appeared. 

§  Origines  Antuerpianae  ;  Antiih  1569,  pp.  534,  seq. 

II  See  the  Advertisement  to  the  Ed.  Princ.  of  the  New  Testament  ; 
Rome,  1548. 

H  See  llieir  authority,  given  in  Assemani's  Bibliotheca  Orientalis, 
torn.  m.  part.  i.  p.  314.  Ibn  Kaledoon,  Massoudi,  Haider  Razi,  and 
other  Arabic  authors,  maintain  the  same  opinion.  See  Quatremeres 
learned  Essay,  in  the  JVouveau  Journal  Asiatique,  March,  1835. 

**  Josephus,  Archsolog.  I.  i.  c.  i.  torn.  i.  p.  6  ed.  Haverc.  Targumin 
on  Gen.  11:  1. 

ft  De  Lingua  Primaeva  ;    Witlenb.  1800. 
3 


18  LECTURE    THE    FIRST. 

first  patriarchs,  and  even  of  Adam,  is,  in  its  literal  sense,  inadmissi- 
ble ;"  though,  he  adds  very  judiciously,  that  it  is  sufficient  to 
acknowledge  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible,  for  us  to  be  obliged  to  con- 
fess that  the  language  in  which  it  is  written  is  a  faithful,  though 
earthly,  image  of  the  speech  of  paradise;  even  as  fallen  man  preserves 
some  traces  of  his  original  greatness.* 

Such  was  the  object  towards  which  the  comparative  study  of 
languages  in  general  first  directed  its  attention  ;  and  two  essential 
faults  may  be  observed  in  the  manner  of  conducting  it,  both  of  which 
arose  from  the  limited  views  of  its  cultivators. 

The  first  was,  that  hardly  any  affinity  seems  to  have  been  admit- 
ted between  languages,  save  that  of  filiation.  Parallel  descent  from 
a  common  parent  was  hardly  ever  imagined  :  the  moment  two  lan- 
guages bore  a  resemblance,  it  was  concluded  that  one  must  be  the 
oflfspring  of  the  other. t  This  mode  of  reasoning  is  most  visible 
among  the  writers  upon  the  Semitic  dialects  ;  but  there  are  curious 
instances  of  it  also  in  others. 

Thus  an  affinity  between  the  Persian  and  German  languages  had 
been  early  perceived  by  Lipsius  and  Salmasius  ;t  but  no  solution 
could  be  devised  of  this  phenomenon,  except  that  one  must  have 
borrowed  from  the  other.  "  Hodierna  (lingua  Persica),"  says  the 
learned  David  Wilkins,  "  ex  multis  Eitropa;  ct  Orienfis  vocibus  com- 
posita  est,  Latinis  sc.  Germanicis,  Graecis.''^     Walton  had  before 


*  Philosophie  der  Geschichte,  oder  ilber  die  Tralition.  Nut  having, 
at  this  moment,  the  original  at  hand,  I  must  refer  to  tlie  French  al)iidg- 
ment,  Philosophie  de  la  Tradition,  par  X.  Cruris,  p.  1 1  ;  Paris,  1834. 

t  The  following  passage,  from  an  author  with  whose  opinions  on 
most  points  I  do  not  coincide,  may  explain  this  position.  "  II  ne  fatit 
pas  se  representer  les  [)euples  ct  les  langues  en  lignes  jjerpeiidiculaires 
...  II  n'y  a  entre  elles  ni  droit  d'ainesse  iii  primogeniture.  Cette  ques- 
tion qu'on  entend  faire,  la  langue  A  est-elle  plus  ancienne  que  la  langue 
B  est  puerile,  et  tout  uussi  deniiee  de  sens  que  le  sont  ordinairement  les 
controverses  scholastiques  toucliant  les  langues  meres."  —  Principes  de 
VEtude  compai'alive  des  Langues,  par  le  Baron  de  Merian,  p.  12  ;  Paris, 
1828. 

I  Lipsius  Eplst.  ad  Belgas  ;  Antw.  1G02 — 4  :  Salmasius  de  Lingua 
Hellanist.  p.  378.  Scaligcr  is  often  quoted  as  having  observed  this 
resemblance  (viile  JVilkiiis,  inf.  cil.)  ;  hut  in  his  228tli  letter  to  Poiitanus, 
he  says  :  — "  Nihil  tarn  dissiniile  alii  rei  qiiem  Teutonisinus  lingua) 
Persicae." 

§  Preface  to  Chaniberlayne's   Oratio  Dominica,  p.  7  ;  Amstel.  1715. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  19 


expressed  the  same  opinion  as  quite  certain.  "  Ut  gens  Persica  ipsa 
Gra3Corum,  Italorum,  Arabum,  Tartarorumque  coUuvies  est,  ita  lin- 
gua quoque  ejus  ex  horum  Unguis  est  conflata  !"* 

This  principle  led  the  acute  and  learned  Reland  into  a  different, 
but  still  more  curious  error  upon  the  same  subject.  He  had  collected 
the  Indian  words  preserved  in  ancient  authors,  and  found  that  many 
of  them  could  be  illustrated  from  the  Persian.  Yet  this  did  not  lead 
him  to  suspect  an  affinity  between  the  Indian  and  the  Persian  lan- 
guages But  as  he  knew  no  grounds  on  which  to  resort  to  the  usual 
expedient  of  supposing  that  one  had  given  birth  to  the  other,  he  was 
unable,  upon  any  principle  then  known,  to  solve  this  problem;  and 
therefore  concluded  that  the  words  so  collected  were  not  Indian  but 
Persian,  and  that  the  ancients  had  been  mistaken  in  giving  them  as 
Indian.t  Even  in  more  modern  times,  the  Abate  Denina  could 
devise  no  explanation  ofthe  affinity  between  Teutonic  and  Greek,! 
other  than  supposing  the  ancient  Germans  to  have  been  a  colony 
from  Asia  Minor  ;  so  that  truly  we  might  exclaim  with  the  poet— 

"Hie  quoqne  sunt  igiuir  Graine,  quis  crederet,  urbes 

Inter  inhuinaiice  noniina  barbaria?  ; 
Hue  qufeque  Mileto  inissi  veiiere  coloni, 

Inque  Getis  Graias  constituere  (l()iiins."§ 

The  second  error  in  the  method  of  this  study,  was  that  it  was 
conducted  almost  entirely  by  etymology,  and  not  by  comparison.  As 
the  authors  whom  I  have  mentioned  wished  to  prove  the  derivation  of 
other  languacres  from  the  one  whose  cause  they  espoused,  they  were 
necessarily  ddven  to  this  expedient.  Similarity  of  words  or  forms, 
could  have  only  established  an  affinity  between  the  languages  in 
which  it  occurred,  and  therefore  it  was  preferable  to  find  in  the 
favorite  language  a  supposed  original  word  which  contained  in  itself 
the  germ,  as  it  were,  or  meaning  of  the  term  examined,  rather  than 
trace  the  affinities  through  sister  languages,  or  even  condescend  to 
derive  it  from  obvious  elements  in  its  own  native  language^  JThus^ 

*  Prolegom.  xvi,  §  2. 

+  De  Veteri  Lma;ua  Indica  Dissertat.  Miscellan.  torn.  i.  p.  209  ; 
Traiect.  ad  Rhen.  1713.  See  Professor  Tychsen's  correct.on  of  them 
qppend.  iv.  to  Heeren's  Researches,  vol.  ii.  p.  376  ;  Oxford,  loS-s. 

X  Sur  les  Causes  de  la  Difference  des  Langues.  Muvelles  Mimoires, 
de  V Academic  Royale,  1783,  p.  .'i42  ;   Berlin,  173d. 

§  Ovid,  Trist.  lib.  iii.  EL  Jx. 


20  LKCTITRK    THF.     FIRST. 

if  I  remember  riirlit,  Jennings,  somewhere  in  iiis  Jewisli  Antiquities, 
derives  the  Greek  unv).oi>  asylum,  from  the  Hebrew  b^N  eskel,  an 
oak  or  grove,  in  s|)iteof  the  simple  etymology  given  it  by  the  ancients, 
a,  priv.  and  a I'ldo),  forming  together  the  signitication  of  z;?j)/(;Z«6/(3. 
With  equal  propriety  might  we  derive  the  English  verb  to  ait  off, 
from  the  Syriac  verb  '.■'Zk'^c:  cataf,  which  signifies  the  same  thing. 
These  extraordinary  etymologies  swarm,  even  to  this  day,  in  popular 
writers  advocating  the  pretended  rights  of  the  Hebrew  language. 
Nor  did  other  authors  neglect  this  method.  Becanus,  for  instance, 
explains  from  Dutch,  every  name  found  in  the  early  history  of  Gene- 
sis; and  discovering  in  his  own  language  a  possible  analysis  of  them, 
concludes  triumphantly  that  those  names  were  given  in  that  tongue. 
Who  can  for  an  instant  doubt  that  Adam  and  Eve  spoke  Low  Dutch, 
when  he  learns  that  the  name  of  the  first  man  clearly  resolves  itself 
into  Hat,  (hate)  and  dam,  because  he  was  as  a  dam  opposed  to  the 
serpent's  hatred;  und  that  of  his  consort  into  .E,  (oath)  and  z;a^, 
she  being  the  receptacle  of  the  oath,  or  promise  of  a  Redeemer.* 

But  to  return.  The  defects  I  have  pointed  out  in  the  early  history 
of  our  science,  were  the  natural  consequence  of  the  objects  it  pur- 
sued. It  was  necessary  to  enlarge  at  once  the  view,  as  well  as  the 
field,  of  the  philologer,  before  any  good  results  could  be  expected. 
It  was  necessary  to  begin  upon  a  new  method,  and  without  the  mis- 
chievous spirit  of  system  ;  and  the  collection  of  facts  was  the  neces- 
sary basis  to  such  improvements.  "  Ici  comnie  ailleurs,"  says  Abel- 
Remusat,  "  on  a  commence  par  batir  des  systemes,  au  lieuV  de  se 
borner  a  I'observation  de  faits."+ 

Had  the  moderns  been  obliged  to  begin  their  studies  at  this  first 
point,  many  years  must  have  elapsed  before  they  could  have  reached 
maturity  ;  for  the  collection  of  materials  would  have  occupied  a  con- 
siderable time.  Fortunately,  however,  the  older  writers  had  done 
something  in  this  way,  though  with  no  very  definite  purpose.  Trav- 
ellers, among  other  curiosities,  had  brought  lists  of  words  from  coun- 
tries which  they  had  visited  ;  missionaries,  with  more  exalted  views, 
learned  the  languages  of  nations  whom  they  converted,  and  wrote 
elementary  books  for  their  in.struction.  These  two  sources  produced 
the  collections  necessary  for  prosecuting  the  comparative  study  of 
languages. 

*  Ubi  sup.  ji.  .539. 

\  Rccherchcf  sur  Ics  Langucs  Taiiurcs  :  Paris,  \8'i0,  |>.  IS. 


STUDY  OF  LANGUAGES.  21 

The  first  traveller  who  thought  of  enriching  his  narrative  with 
lists  of  foreign  words,  was  the  amusing  and  credulous  Pigafetta,  who 
accompanied  Magelhaens,  in  the  first  voyage  round  the  globe.  At 
the  conclusion  of  his  journal,  he  presents  us  with  three  very  meagre 
vocabularies ;  the  first  whereof  is  of  the  Brazilian  language ;  the 
second,  collected  from  his  Patagonian  giant,  who  makes  so  con- 
spyiuous  a  figure  in  his  book,  is  of  the  Tehuel  ;  the  third  is  from 
Tidore,  one  of  the  Moluccas.*  His  example  was  followed  by  later 
navigators  ;  almost  every  traveller  who  explored  new  lands,  or  glean- 
ed fuller  information  upon  those  already  known,  collected  specimens 
of  this  nature,  though  often  injudiciously, — almost  always  inaccurate- 
ly.! Many  of  these  collections  were  deposited  in  libraries,  and  used 
at  subsequent  periods  by  learned  men.  The  judicious  Reland, 
vvhose  labors  in  this  department  of  literature  have  been  very  much 
overlooked,  published  from  manuscripts  of  this  sort,  preserved  in  the 
Leyden  library,  vocabularies  of  the  Malayalim,  Cingalese,  Mala- 
baric,  Japanese,  and  Javanese.  He  also  took  particular  pains  to 
collect  from  travellers,  specimens  of  American  languages. J:  In  like 
manner,  the  collections  of  Messerschmidt,  made  during  his  seven 
tjcvtm  years'  residence  in  Siberia,  and  deposited  in  the  Imperial 
Library  at  St.  Petersburg,  were  of  signal  service  to  Klaproth,  in 
compiling  his  Asia  Polyglotta.§ 

Books  of  devotion  were  naturally  the  first  printed  by  missionaries, 
for  the  use  of  those  nations  whom  they  converted  to  Christianity,  and 
these  were  sure  to  contain  the  Lord's  Prayer.  This  was  therefore 
the  example  most  easy  to  be  procured  of  a  variety  of  languages,  so  as 
to  have  a  uniform  specimen  for  their  comparison.  Smaller  collec- 
tions of  it  had  been  made  by  Schildberger,  Postel,  and  Bibliander  ; 


*  Pririio  volume,  3a  editione,  delle  jYavigationi  et  viaggi  raccoUi  gia 
da  M.  Gio.B'il.  Rainusio  ;  Vcn,  15li3,  p.  370. — Tlie  words  relating  to 
religion  in  the  vocalmlary  o{  Tidore,  are  Arabic. 

f  Si;e  Balbi's  Introduction  a  V  Atlas  Ethnograpfiique  du  Globe  ;  Paris, 
1826,  pp.  27,  seqq.  and  p.  c.  of  the  Disc.  Prelim. 

I  De  Linguis  Insidonim  quorundam  Orieiilnliuia  Dissert.  Miscell. 
parso;  Traject.  1708,  p.  .')7.  He  adds  short  lists  of  words  used  in 
Solomon's  Island,  Cocas,  N.  Guinea,  Moses  Islan<i,  Moo,  and  Madagas- 
car, and  conchides,  p.  137,  that  Malay  is  the  basis  of  them  all.  This 
we  shall  see  has  been  substantially  verified.  De  Lingids  Americanis ; 
Ibid. 

§  Paris,  I82d,p.  8. 


2-2 


LECTURE   THE   FIRST. 


but  the  naturalist,  Gesner,  first  conceived  the  idea  of  uniting  it  as  a 
sample  to  a  catalogue  of  known  languages ;  and  he  published  in 
1555,  his  Mithridatcs,  better  known  in  the  extended,  but  less  ac- 
curate, edition  of  Waser.*  The  merit  of  this  little  work  is  that  it 
formed  a  nucleus  to  later  acquisitions,  and  though  we  must  smile  to 
see  it  standing  beside  its  bulky  namesake  by  Adelung,  and  Vater,  it 
is  pleasing  to  trace  this  noble  monument  of  human  industry  to  the 
little  dictionary  of  Gesner.  Here  the  languages  are  arranged  in 
alphabetical  order,  one  half  thereof  being  erroneously  entitled  or  de- 
scribed ;  and  when  I  tell  you  that  the  language  of  the  gods  has  a 
place  there,  because  Homer  has  indulged  in  such  a  fiction,  you  will 
easily  judge  what  critical  merit  it  possesses.  This,  and  the  subse- 
quent collections  by  Miiller,  Ludeke,  Stark,  and  others,  were  com- 
pletely eclipsed  and  superseded  by  the  more  extensive  series  of 
Wilkins  and  Chamberlayne,  published  at  Amsterdam,  after  the  be- 
ginning'of  the  last  century. t 

This  date  brings  us  to  a  period  when  the  science,  however  im- 
perfect its  principles  may  have  remained  for  a  long  time  after,  took 
at  least  a  most  extended  field  into  cultivation,  and  varied  the  charac- 
ter of  its  observations  and  experiments,  so  as  to  prepare  the  way  for 
more  important  discoveries.  It  is  perhaps  its  critical  moment  both 
for  ethnography  and  for  religion. 

The  name  of  Leibnitz  is  the  connecting  link  between  the  sci- 
ences at  the  period  we  have  now  reached.  Had  we  to  define  in  one 
word,  the  pursuits  of  this  great  man,  we  could  only  do  so  by  saying 
ihey  were  philosophi/ .  But  this  would  be  an  injustice  to  his  fame  ; 
for  many  claim,  and  obtain  an  equal  credit,  by  casting  some  addition- 
al light  upon  some  individual  branch  of  science.  The  genius  of 
Leibnitz  was  like  the  prism  of  his  great  rival ;  this  one  ray,  on  pas- 
sing through  it,  was  refracted  into  a  thousand  variegated  hues,  all 
clear,  all  brilliant,  and  connected  in  almost  imperceptible  gradations, 


*  Mithridales  Gesneri,  Gaspar  Waserus  receusuit  et  libello  coni- 
nieiitario  illustravit  ;  Tigur.  KilO.  Between  these  two  editions  it  was 
published  in  Rome,  without  any  acknowledgment,  as  an  Appendix  to 
F.  Angela  RocccCs  Bibliothcca  Vaticana  lllustrala;  Rome,  1591,  pp.  291 
— 376.  The  author  pretends  to  have  collected  the  materials  himself, 
pp.  310 — 364,  yet  has  transcribed  the  whole  of  Gesner's  work,  with  its 
typographical  mistakes,  and  lias  only  made  a  few  trifling  additions. 

f  Oratio  Dominica  in  diversis  omnium  fere  Gentium  liiiguis  versa, 
Editore  J.  Chamberlaynio ;  Ams.  1751.  It  is  followed  by  Letters  from 
Dr.  Nicholson,  Leibnitz,  and  Wotton. 


STUDY  OF  LANGUAGES.  23 

not  of  shadow,  but  of  light.  In  his  writings  we  follow  the  changeful 
beam,  playing  through  the  whole  range  of  science  ;  traced  to  his 
mind  we  discover  all  its  varieties  diverging  from  one  single  principle, 
a  bright  and  vivid  current  of  philosophic  thought.  In  him,  mathe- 
matics and  moral  philosophy,  history,  and  philology,  for  the  first  time 
found  a  common  seat ;  and  persons  even  deeply  versed  in  any  one 
of  these  studies,  bowed  to  the  authority  of  the  man  who  possessed 
sufficient  genius  to  embrace  them  all,  and  make  them  contribute  to 
their  mutual  advantage. 

From  such  a  man  we  might  expect  essential  improvements  in 
any  science,  where  this  combination  of  varied  acquirements  was 
singularly  necessary.  Such  was  Ethnography,  and  to  Leibnitz, 
therefore,  does  it  owe  those  principles  which  first  allowed  it  to  claim 
a  place  among  the  sciences.  Though  from  some  passages  in  his 
works,  he  is  supposed  to  have  patronized  the  rights  of  Hebrew  to  be 
the  primary  language,  in  his  letter  to  Tenzel  he  clearly  rejects  those 
claims.*  Be  this  as  it  may,  so  far  as  the  mere  comparison  of  words 
can  go,  he  must  be  admitted  to  have  proposed  the  first  sound  princi- 
ples ;  nay,  there  is  hardly  an  analogy  announced  by  the  followers  of 
that  comparative  system  in  modern  times,  which  he  has  not  some- 
where anticipated  ;  several  of  his  hopes  have  been  fulfilled,  many  of 
his  conjectures  verified. 

Instead  of  confining  the  study  of  languages  to  the  useless  object 
pursued  by  the  earlier  philologers,  he  saw  and  pointed  out  its  useful- 
ness for  the  advancement  of  history,  for  tracing  the  migrations  of 
early  nations,  and  penetrating  even  beyond  the  mist  of  their  earliest 
and  most  unauthentic  records. f  This  enlargement  of  view  neces- 
sarily produced  a  variation  of  method.  However'he^might'occasion- 
ally  indulge  in  trifling  etymologies  for  a  pastime,  Leibnitz  well  saw, 
that  to  extend  the  sphere  of  usefulness  which  he  wished  to  give  this 

*  G.  Leibnitii  Opera  omnia,  Edit.  Dut.  torn.  6.  part  2.  p.  232.  A 
similar  opinion  is  exi)ressed  in  a  letter  to  him  from  Hermann  von  der 
Hardt,  p.  235. 

t  "  Je  trouve  que  rien  ne  sert  davantage  a  juger  des  connexions  des 
penples  que  les  langues.  Par  example,  la  langue  des  Abyssins  nous 
fait  connaitre  qu'ils  sont  une  colonie  d'  Arabes." — Letlre  auT.  Veijus, 
ib.  p.  227.  "Quum  nihil  majorem  ad  antiquas  populonnn  origines 
jndagandas  lucein  prasbeat  quam  collatio  linguarnm,"  etc.— Desiderata 
circa  Linguas  Populorum,  ib.  p.  228.  Lacroze.  (Commerc.  Epistol.  torn. 
3.  p.  79  ;  Lips.  1742J  and  Reland  (ubi  sup.  p.  78)  take  the  same'viewof 
this  studv. 


24  LECTURE    THE    FIRST. 

science,  a  comparison  must  be  instituted  between  idioms  most  separa- 
ted in  geographical  position.  He  complains  that  travellers  were  not 
sufficiently  diligent  in  collecting  specimens  of  languages,*  and  his 
sagacity  led  him  to  suggest  that  they  should  be  formed  upon  a  uni- 
form list,  containing  the  most  elementary  and  simple  objects.!  He 
exhorted  his  friends  to  collect  words  into  comparative  tables,  to  in- 
vestigate the  Georgian,  and  to  confront  the  Armenian  with  the  Cop- 
tic, and  the  Albanese  with  German  and  Latin. t  His  attention  to 
these  pursuits,  and  the  peculiar  sagacity  of  his  mind,  led  him  to  con- 
jectures which  have  been  curiously  verified  by  modern  research. 
For  instance,  he  suspected  there  might  be  an  affinity  in  words  be- 
tween the  Biscayan  and  the  Coptic,  the  languages  of  Spain  and 
Egypt, §  a  conjecture  which  you  will  see  has  been  put  to  the  test  of 
mathematical  calculus  by  the  late  Dr.  Young. 

I  remarked  just  now,  that  this  was  the  critical  moment  of  the 
study,  in  regard  to  religion  as  well  as  to  Ethnography  ;  and  the  rea- 
son is  plain.  The  old  tie  which  had  hitherto  held  all  languages  in  a 
supposed  affinity,  their  assumed  derivation  from  Hebrew,  was  now 
broken  or  loosened,  and  no  other  substituted  for  it.  The  materials 
of  the  study,  whence  the  modern  science  had  to  issue  in  fair  propor- 
tions, were  now  in  a  state  of  fusion,  without  form  or  connexion.  In 
the  search  for  new  materials,  each  day  seemed  to  discover  a  new 
language,  independent  of  all  previously  known,  and  consequently  to 
increase  the  difficulty  of  reconciling  appearances  with  the  narrative 
of  Moses.  II 

It  was   not  now  sufficient  to  find  a  few  words  bearing  some  re- 


*  Cast  un  grand  d<^fautque  ceux  quefont  des  descriptions des  pays, 
et  qui  donnent  des  relations  des  voyages,  oubiieiU  d'ajouterdes  essaisdes 
langues  des  peuples,  car  cela  servirait  pour  en  faire  connaitre  les 
origines." — Monumenta  varia  intdita,  ex  Muscbo  J.  Feller,  tmn.  9.  p.  595  ; 
Jeiia,  1717. 

f  Desiderata  (uhi  sup.) 

i  Tom.  v.  p.  494. 

§  "  S'ii  y  avail  beaucoup  de  mots  Basques  dans  le  Coplithe,  cela 
confirmerait  une  conjecture  que  j'ai  touche,  que  I'ancien  Espagnol  et 
Aqnitauique  pouvait  etre  venu  d'Afriqtie.  Vous  m'obiigerez,  en  mar- 
quant  un  nombre  de  ces  mots  Coplitho-Basques." — lb.  p.  .'lOo ;  also 
torn.  2.  p.  219, 

Ij  It  was  generally  siq)posed,  that  the  number  of  primary  languages 
could  only  be  about  seventy.  See  Hervas,  Origine  Meccanismo  ed 
Armonia  degV  Tdiomi,  p.  172;  Cesena,  1785. 


STTDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  '^^ 


semblance  in  three  or  four  languages,  and  hence  conclude  the  com- 
mon origin  of  all.     As  an  instance  of  this  older  practice,  I  will  quote 
the  word  sack,  as  one  of  the  favorite  breathing  points  of  the  old  ety- 
molocrists.     Goropius  Becanus,   whom  I   must  once  more  quote  as 
repre'sentative  of  the  ancient  school,  accounts  for  this  word   being 
found  in  so  many  languages,  upon  the  ingenious  ground,  that  no  one 
at  Babel  would  have  forgotten  his  wallet,  whatever  else  he  might  leave 
behind.     This  valuable  psychological   surmise  he  confirms  from  his 
own  observation.     Our  learned  doctor  was  once  on  a  time  called  m 
to  attend  a  German  in  a  brain  fever,  who  had  stabbed  himself  durmg 
a  paroxysm  of  his  complaint;  but  though  suffering  dreadful  pain 
the  patient  would  not  allow  him  or  any  of  his  brethren  to  approach 
him      "  The  wretched  man,"   says  he,  "  did  not  remember  that  we 
were  physicians,  ready  to  put  his  disorder  to  flight.'^     Yet  in  spite  of 
this  manifest  exhibition  of  madness  and  delirium,  there  was  one  ob- 
iect  which  he  never  forgot,  and   about  which  his  reason  seemed  per- 
fectly unclouded-a  bag  of  dollars,  which  he  kept  under  his  pillow. 
-  No  wonder,  therefore,"  exclaims  our  philosopher,  cunningly  trans- 
ferring his  argument  from  the  contents  to  the   container,  and  from 
the  object  to  its  name.-"  no  wonder,  that  at  Babel  none  should  for- 
get  the  term  for  so  interesting  an  article."*     Yet  the  numerous  ex- 
amples collected  of  this  word,  will  be  hardly  found  to  go  out  of  tvvo 
families  only  of  languages,  the  Semitic  and  the  Indo-European.     In 
like  manner,  Count  de  Gebelin,  who  made  the  last  stand  upon  the 
old  system,  often  draws  the  most  sweeping  conclusions  of  universa 
affinity,  after  comparing,  among  themselves,  words  from  the  different 
Semitic  or  Teutonic  dialects.t 

This  method  of  reasoning  was  now  however  to  be  exploded,  and 
in  the  meantime  no  general  principle  was  to  be  substituted  m  its 
place  Only  an  analytical  method  could  be  admitted,  whereby  the 
grammatical  elements  of  language  were  to  be  minutely  decomposed 
and  compared  as  well  as  their  words,  and  no  affinity  admitted  be- 
tween  two  languages  which  would  not  stand  a  very  rigid  test  It 
would  therefore  appear  that  the  further  the  search  proceeded,  the 
more  dangerously  it  would  trespass  upon  the  forbidden  ground  of  in- 
spired  history. 

*  Uli  Sup.  p.  578. 

t  Monde  Prinntif;  vol.  3.  pp.30,  seq.  Paris,  1775-81,  '"  the  lUus^a- 
nonofhis  "Pien.ier  Principe:  Les   langnes  i.e  sent  que  des  dialectes 
d'uiie  senle."      Also  pp.  290,  seqq. 
4 


26  LECTURE    THE    FIRST. 

An  uneasiness  on  this  head  is  clearly  discernible  in  the  works  of 
an  author,  who,  towards  the  close  of  last  century,  went  far  beyond  all 
his  forerunners,  in  laborious  research,  and  in  amassing  materials  for 
this  interestiii:^  science.  This  was  the  indefatigable  and  learned 
Jesuit,  Don  Lorenzo  Hervas  y  Pandura,  who  in  a  series  of  works, 
mostly  forming  part  of  his  Idea  dcW  Universo,  laid  before  the  public 
vast  additions  to  the  stores  already  described.  He  had  indeed  the 
advantage  of  belonging  to  a  religious  society,  possessing  within  its 
own  circle,  men  who  had  travelled  and  preached  in  every  district  of 
the  globe.  Not  only  did  he  thus  receive  personal  information  on  lan- 
guages little  known,  but  he  was  able  to  procure  many  grammars, 
vocabularies,  and  writings,  which  had  scarcely  been  seen  in  Europe. 
With  these  materials  at  command,  he  published  year  after  year  at 
Cesena,*  his  numerous  quartos  upon  languages,  which  were  transla- 
ted and  republished  by  his  friends  in  Spain. f 

The  great  merit  of  Hervas  is  his  indefatigable  zeal  and  diligence 
in  collecting  ;  there  is  hardly  an  attempt  at  systematic  arrangement 
in  his  works,  but  rather  a  degree  of  confusion  and  want  of  judgment 
are  perceptible  in  his  remarks.  Mistakes  must  indeed  be  naturally 
expected  in  one  who  wandered  over  so  wide  a  field,  and  who  had 
generally  to  make  his  own  path  ;  yet  so  assiduous  was  he  in  collect- 
ing materials,  that  in  spite  of  the  caution  wherewith  his  results  must 
be  adopted,  the  ethnographer  is  even  at  this  day  obliged  to  explore 
his  pages,  for  information  which  further  researches  have  not  been 
able  to  procure  or  enlarge.  At  every  step,  however,  beseems  to  fear 
that  the  study  he  is  pursuing  may  be  turned  to  the  prejudice  of  reve- 
lation. He  evidently  labors  under  a  great  anxiety  to  prove  the  con- 
trary ;  he  opens  some  of  his  works, 'and  concludes  others,  with  long 

*  Tiie  following  are  liis  princi[);il  works: — Catnlos:o  dtUe  Hague 
conosciulc,  e  notizia  dtlla  loro  nff'inita  e  diversita,  1784.  Origine,  forma- 
zionc,  meccanismo  cd  armonin  dcgV  Idiomi,  1785.  Aritmetic.a  dclle 
A''azion{,  e  Divisione  del  Tempo  fra  VOrientali,  1785.  This  is  one  of 
the  most  interesrinj;f  juitl  valiiiible  among  Hervas's  works,  and  there  is  a 
supplement  to  it  nt  tlie  (311(1  of  the  20th  vohime  of  his  works.  Vocabo- 
lario  PoligloUo  con  Prolegomtni  sopra  pm  di  150  Lingue,  1787.  Saggio 
prallico  dclle  Lingnc,  1787.  Tliis  contains  the  Lord's  prayer  in  more 
than  300  languages  and  dialects,  witli  grammatical  analyses  and  notes. 

t  See  Vot/age  en  Espagnc,  par  C.  A.  Fischer  ;  Paris,  1801,  torn.  2 
p.  52.  The  Spanish  edition  oC  Hervas  is  much  the  more  complete. 
The  Calalogo  de  las  Lenguas  de  las  .Yacioncs  conocidas,  Madrid,  1800-5, 
IS  in  six  large  8vo.  volumes. 


27 

STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES, 


and  elaborate  dissertations  on  this  subject.*  But  his  manner  of  treat- 
ing  it  is  long  and  abstract,  and  his  conclusions  do  not  seem  to  follow 
easily  from  the  facts  which  he  quotes  m  evidence.  So  unsatisfactory 
indeed,  are  the  comparisons  of  words  from  difterent  languages  which 
he  makes  on  these  occasions,  that  the  existence  of  one  letter  m  co- 
mon,  is  sufficient,  with  him,  to  form  an  argument  of  identity  m  an 

entire  word.t  .         ,      .   ^        *,  ^r 

While  the  south  of  Europe  was  thus  promoting  the  interests  of 
this  science  by  means  of  this  modest  and  learned  clergyman   in  the 
noX   was  more  brilliantly  encouraged  by  the  personal  application 
L  patronage  of  an  empress.     Among   the  --y  ^f  ^^  "^^"^^  ,f 
Catherine  II,  that  of  havmg  planned,  conducted,  and  afterward^^^^^^^ 
rected   a  large   comparative   work  on   language,  though  no  u  here 
Mentioned  by  her  English  biographer,  is  far  f--  ^-"S/^;  ^fj 
Ample  justice  has  however  been  done  to  her  claims  by  Frederick 
Adelung,  in  a  small  treatise  on  this  subject.     We  there  learn,  upon 
fheautLtvofher  letter  to  Dr.  Zimmerman   that  ^''^ 'J  -- 
hst  of  one  hundred  Russian   words,  and  ^ad  them  translatd  into  as 
many  languages  as  possible.     She  soon  discovered  unexpected  affin  - 
L,'and;ith  her  own  hand  began  to  ^^  ^  ^^^^T^'^Z 
The  Doctor's  book  on  Solitude  superseded  this  dry  task  ,  and  ac 
cordingly  sending  for  the  naturalist   Pallas,  she  --—f^^^;^ 
to  complete  her  undertaking,  and  prepare  it  for  publication.§      fh 
commission  was  no  ways  suited  to  his  taste  or  previous  Pursuits  ;  it 
was  imposed  upon  him  against  his  will,  and  consequentb^came  forth 
very  imperfect.H     Under  the  wled^Lm5^ 

t  See  examples  in  his  "Origiue,"  ec.  pp.  2/,  29,  118,  Ub,  134,  and 

are  there  enumerated.  a^.o^u 

&  "  Catherine  der  jfrossen  Verdienste  un.  die  vergleichende  fepracb- 
UunL,'s;:Tt:;sh.l815.     This  was  -t  the  first  attempt  n.a^^ 
Russia  to  promote  this  stu.ly.     Bacme.ster,  m  1//3,  published 
prospectus  of  a  similar  work. 


28  LECTURE  tuf:  first. 

ularia  roiiiparativa,  Avgustissima;  cum  collctta,  the  first  two  vol- 
umes appeared  at  St.  Petersburgli,  in  1787  and  1789.  These  con- 
tain only  the  European  and  Asiatic  LanEruages  :  the  tliird  was  never 
published,  but  in  a  second  edition  by  Jnnkiewitsch,  (1790 — 91)  the 
African  dialects  were  added. 

Europe,  thus  occupied  at  its  two  extremities,  received  considera- 
ble succor  from  the  furthest  East.  In  the  year  1784,  the  Asiatic 
Society  was  instituted  at  Calcutta;  through  the  encouragement 
whereof  the  languages  of  eastern  and  southern  Asia  began  to  be 
cultivated,  and  Grammars  and  Dictionaries  were  published  of  lan- 
guages and  dialects  till  then  almost  unknown.  The  term  Oriental 
languages,  hitherto  confined  to  the  Semitic  dialects,  now  received  a 
far  more  extensive  meaning ;  Chinese,  before  considered  an  almost 
unconquerable  language,  began  to  be  studied,  till  later  it  was  stripped 
of  its  difficulties  by  the  sagacity  and  diligence  of  the  French  oriental- 
ists ;  and  Sanskrit,  peculiarly  the  province  of  our  countrymen,  was 
cultivated  by  them  with  great  success,  and  from  them  passed  into  the 
hands  of  continental  scholars. 

But  in  justice  I  am  bound  to  say  that  Rome  has  the  merit  of  hav- 
ing first  seriously  attended  to  the  study  of  Indian  literature.  John 
Werdin,  better  known  under  the  name  of  Father  Paulinus  a  Sancto 
Bartholomaeo,  published  under  the  auspices  of  Propaganda,  a  series 
of  works  upon  Sanskrit  grammar,  and  upon  the  history,  mythology, 
and  religion  of  the  Hindoos.  He  was  even  during  his  life  severely 
handled  by  Anquetil  du  Perron  and  other  French  critics,  but  strenu- 
ously defended  by  his  countrymen  the  Adeiungs.*  Abel  Remusat 
has  later  still  done  justice  to  his  reputation,  and  remarks  that  his 
misfortune  has  been  to  have  his  unaided  labors  eclipsed  by  the  com- 
bined exertions  of  the  English  society  of  Calcutta!  It  is,  further, 
just  to  remark,  that  so  far  from  any  alarm  being  felt  among  learned 
members  of  the  Church  in  Italy  at  the  new  and  then  highly  mysteri- 
ous class  of  literature  thus  opening  before  them,  they  hailed  it  as  the 


vor  ihr  gesanimelten  urn!  bestellten  Hiilfsmitteh),  eiligst  zum  Druck 
berdnlele,  oiitlialt  zwar  scliatzbare  Miircrialien,  die  aber  oline  alle 
Kritik  zusauiineiigeslellt  .'^iiid." — Kiajjiotli,  Asi;i  rolygiotta,  I'aris,  1823, 
p.  7. 

*  Miihridates,  vol.  i.  j).  134,  and  vol.  iv.  p.  oG. 

t  In  tlie   "  IJio;irapliic  UnivcrsHlle,"  vol.  xiii.  p.  342,  ed.  Yen.   1828, 
printed  also  in  liis  '"Nouveaux  iiK-langcs  asialiqiics,"  ton).  2.  Par.  1829, 


p.  305, 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  '29 

|)rospect  of  fresh  and  important  accessions  to  the  proofs  of  early  tra- 
dition. This  feeling  is  expressed  with  peculiar  earnestness  in  a 
letter  from  F.  Angelo  Cortenoris,  long  a  missionary  in  Ava,  to  the 
munificent  Cardinal  Borgia.* 

I  shall  now  mention  only  one  work  more,  and  so  pass  from  this 
chronological  part  of  my  subject  to  lay  before  you  some  of  its  results. 
I  ought  perhaps  to  have  already  mentioned,  that  from  the  time  of 
Chamberlayne,  there  had  been  continually  a  series  of  publications 
containing  collections  of  the  Lord's  Prayer ;  the  most  important  of 
which  was  the  one  given  by  Hervas.  Something  new  was  perhaps 
given  in  each,  but  then  each  copied  the  errors  of  its  predecessors. 
The  plan  was  essentially  defective  as  intended  to  show  the  character 
of  different  languages;  because  a  translation  of  a  prayer  so  peculiar 
in  its  form,  must  be  more  or  less  constrained  in  many  languages,  nor 
could  ever  form  such  a  fair  specimen  as  an  original  composition  by  a 
native  would  present.  Then  these  collections  were  generally  arran- 
ged in  alphabetical  order,  and  were  unaccompanied  with  any 
philological  or  ethnographical  illustrations.  In  fact,  instead  of  im- 
proving, the  system  rather  became  worse,  till,  in  the  hands  of  Fry, 
Marcel,  andBodoni,  these  publications  degenerated  into  a  mere  piece 
of  typographical  luxury,  and  became  only  specimens  of  their  skill  in 
making  and  printing  foreign  alphabets.  One  work,  however,  con- 
taining such  a  collection,  forms  a  most  honorable  exception,  and 
must  be  reckoned,  in  spite  of  its  imperfections,  among  the  most 
valuable  and  splendid  ethnographic  works.  I  allude  to  the  Mithri- 
dates,  begun  by  John  Christopher  Adelung,  in  1800.  He  died 
before  publishing  the  second  volume,  which  appeared  in  1809,  under 
the  care  of  Dr.  J.  Severinus  Vater.  Its  materials  were  chiefly 
drawn  from  Adelung's  papers,  and  extended  to  the  European  lan- 
guages the  researches  confined  in  the  first  volume  to  Asia  ;  the  third 
volume  upon  the  African  and  American  languages  was  entirely  con- 
tributed by  Vater,  and  came  out  in  parts  from  the  year  1812  to  1816. 
In  1817,  this  valuable  compilation  was  completed  by  a  supplementary 
volume,  containing  much  additional  matter,  by  Vater  and  the  young- 
er Adelung,  besides  a  most  interesting  essay  on  the  Cantaber,  or 
Biscayan,  by  Baron  W.  von  Humboldt,  t 


*  On  the  perusal  of  F.  Paulinns's  "  Amarasiiilia,"  dated  Udine,  June 
0,  1791).      Borgia  Papers,  in  the  Museum  of  Propaganda,  C. 

t  Dr.  Vater  died  March  28,  182(5,  at  the  age  of  fifty-five.  Though 
he  resided  at  Konigsberg  and  Halle,  the  "  Mithridates"  was  all  publish- 
ed at  Berlin. 


30  LECTURE    THE    FIRST. 

In  this  work,  the  alphabetical  classification  is  abandoned,  and 
the  languages  are  distributed  into  groups,  or  larger  divisions,  with  a 
minute  description  and  history  of  each.  Lists  of  works  useful  for 
acquiring  or  examining  them  are  likewise  given,  together  with  speci- 
mens consisting  principally  of  the  Lord's  Prayer.  Adelung's  views 
on  the  origin  of  languages,  seem  to  be  that  mankind  may  have  in- 
vented them  in  different  countries.*  Noah's  ark,  or  the  tower  of 
Babel,  no  way  enters  into  his  consideration,  for  he  has  no  favorite 
hypothesis  to  maintain  ;t  and  it  would  appear  that  the  Paradise 
whence  the  human  race  issued,  was  in  his  opinion,  the  seat  of  the 
present  generation  ;  thus  e.xcluding  all  interruption,  by  any  great 
catastrophe,  of  the  earliest  history  of  man.|  With  such  opinions  we 
have  nothing  to  do  at  present;  they  are  not  given  by  Adelung  as  re- 
sulting from  his  valuable  researches. 

Hitherto  we  have  been  occupied  with  the  historical  part  of  our 
subject,  and  this  has  now  brought  us  fairly  into  our  own  times.  You 
have  therefore  a  right  to  expect  that  according  to  my  engagement,  I 
lay  before  you  the  present  state  of  this  science,  and  show  the  con- 
firmation which  its  latest  developments  have  afforded  to  the  scrip- 
tural history  of  man's  dispersion. 

You  have  seen  then  how,  at  the  close  of  the  last  century,  the 
numberless  languages  gradually  discovered  seemed  to  render  the 
probabilities  of  mankind  having  originally  possessed  a  common 
tongue,  much  smaller  than  before  ;  while  the  dissolution  of  certain 
admitted  connexions  and  analogies  among  those  previously  known, 
seemed  to  deny  all  proof  from  comparative  philology  of  their  having 
separated  from  a  common  stock.  Every  new  discovery  only  served 
to  increase  this  perplexity ;  and  our  science  must  at  that  time  have 
presented  to  a  religious  observer,  the  appearance  of  a  study  daily  re- 
ceding from  sound  doctrine,  and  giving  encouragement  to  rash  spe- 
culations and  dangerous  conjecture.  But  even  at  that  period,  a  ray 
of  light  was  penetrating  into  the  chaos  of  materials  thrown  together 
by  collectors,  and  the  first  great  step  towards  a  new  organization, 
was  even  then  taken  by  the  division  of  those  materials  into  distinct 

*  Erst.  lb.  Einleitung.  Fragmente,  u.  s.  w.  p.  11. 

t  "Ich  liabe  keine  Lieblingsnieiiiung  keine  Hypothese  zum  Grunde 
zu  legen.  Ich  leite  uicht  alle  Sprachen  von  Einer  her.  Noah's  Arche 
isimireinc  verschlossene  Burg,  und  Babylon's  Scliutt  bleibt  vor  mir 
vbllig  in  seiner  Ruhe." — lb.  Vorrede,  p.  9. 

I  lb.  Einleit.  p.  6,  comparing  pp.  14,  17. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  31 

homogeneous  masses,  into  continents  as  it  were,  and  oceans  ;  the 
stable  and  circumscribed,  and  the  moveable  and  varying  elements, 
whereof  this  science  is  now  composed. 

The  affinities  which  formerly  had  been  but  vaguely  seen  between 
languages  separated  in  their  origin  by  history  and  geography,  began 
now  to  appear  definite  and  certain.  It  was  now  found  that  new  and 
most  important  connexions  existed  among  languages,  so  as  to  com- 
bine in  large  provinces  or  groups,  the  idioms  of  nations  whom  no 
other  research  would  have  shown  to  be  mutually  related.  It  was 
found  that  the  Teutonic  dialects  received  considerable  light  from  the 
language  of  Persia,  that  Latin  had  remarkable  points  of  contact  with 
Russian  and  the  other  Slavonian  idioms,  and  that  the  theory  of  the 
Greek  verbs  in  ,««,  could  not  well  be  understood  without  recourse  to 
their  parallels  in  Sanskrit  or  Indian  Grammar.  In  short,  it  was 
clearly  demonstrated  that  one  speech,  essentially  so  called,  pervaded 
a  considerable  portion  of  Europe  and  Asia,  and  stretching  across  in 
a  broad  sweep  from  Ceylon  to  Iceland,  united,  in  a  bond  of  union, 
nations  professing  the  most  irreconcilable  religions,  possessing  the 
most  dissimilar  institutions,  and  bearing  but  a  slight  resemblance  in 
physiognomy  and  color.  The  language,  or  rather  family  of  languages, 
I  have  thus  lightly  sketched,  has  received  the  name  of  Indo-Ger- 
manic,  or  Indo-European.  As  this  group  is  necessarily  to  us  the 
most  interesting,  and  has  received  most  cultivation,  I  v/ill  describe  it 
more  at  length;  confining  myself  to  a  few  passing  observations  upon 
other  families.  But  in  tracing  the  history  of  this  one,  you  will  be 
fully  enabled  to  see  how  every  new  investigation  tends  still  further  to 
correct  the  dangerous  tendencies  of  the  earlier  periods  of  our  science. 

The  great  members  of  this  family  are  the  Sanskrit,  or  ancient 
and  sacred  language  of  India,  the  Persian,  ancient  and  modern, 
formerly  considered  a  Tartar  dialect  :*  Teutonic,  with  its 
various  dialects,  Slavonian,  Greek,  and  Latin,  accompanied  by  its 
numerous  derivatives.  To  these,  as  we  shall  later  see,  must  be  now 
added  the  Celtic  dialects;  the  enumeration  I  have  made  being  in- 
tended to  embrace  only  the  languages  early  admitted  into  this  species 
of  confederation.     By  casting  your  eyes  over  the  ethnographic  map 


*  Pauw,  for  instance,  mentions  the  affinity  between  German  and 
Persian,  "qui  est  un  dialecte  du  Tartare." — Recherches  Philos.  sur  les 
Americairis,  vol.  2.  p.  303;  Berlin,  1770.  "La  lingua  Persiana  moder- 
na  e  un  dialetto  corrotto  della  Tartaro-Mongola."— Hervas  Catalogo,  p. 
124. 


32  LECTURE    THE    FIRST. 

which  I  present  you,  you  will  at  once  see  the  territory  thus  occupied ; 
that  is,  the  whole  of  Europe,  excepting  only  the  small  tracts  held  by 
the  Biscayan,  and  by  the  Finnish  family,  which  includes  Hungarian; 
thence  it  extends  over  a  great  part  of  southern  Asia,  here  and  there 
interrupted  by  insulated  groups.  It  were  tedious  indeed  to  enume- 
rate the  writers  who  have  proved  the  affinity  between  the  languages 
I  have  named,*  or  between  two  or  more  members  thereof:  it  will  be 
sufficient  for  our  purpose  if  I  explain  rather  the  methods  they  have 
pursued  and  the  results  they  have  obtained. 

The  first  and  most  obvious  mode  of  proceeding,  and  the  one 
which  first  led  to  these  interesting  conclusions,  was  that  of  which  I 
have  often  spoken;  the  comparison  of  words  in  these  different  lan- 
guages. Many  works  have  presented  comparative  tables  to  a  very 
great  extent  :  that  of  Col.  Vans  Kennedy  comprises  nine  hundred 
words  common  to  Sanskrit  and  other  languages.!  The  words  found 
thus  to  resemble  one  another  in  different  idioms,  are  by  no  means 
such  as  could  have  been  communicated  by  subsequent  intercourse, 
but  express  the  first  and  simplest  elements  of  language,  primary  ideas 
such  as  must  have  existed  from  the  beginning,  and  scarcely  ever 
change  their  denominations.  Not  to  cite  the  numerals,  which  would 
require  many  accompanying  observations  ;  while  I  pronounce  the 
following  words,  ijader,  mader,  sunu,  dokhfer,  bradtr,  tnand,  vidhava, 
or  juvan,  you  might  easily  suppose  that  I  was  repeating  words  from 
some  European  language  ;  yet  every  one  of  these  terms  is  either 
Sanskrit  or  Persian.  Again,  to  choose  another  class  of  simple  words, 
in  such  words  as  asthi,  (Gr.  oaroup)  a  bone  ;  denta,  a  tooth  ;  eyumen, 
the  eye,  in  Zend  ;  brouiva,  (Germ,  braue)  eye-brow  ;  nasa,  the  nose ; 
lib,  a  lip ;  karu,  (Gr.  yflg)  a  hand;  genu,  the  knee;  ped,  the  foot ; 
hrii,  the  heart ;  jccur,  the  liver  :  or  again,  stara,  a  star  ;  gela,  cold  ; 
aghni,  (Lat.  ignis)  fire  ;  dhara,  (terra)  the  earth  ;  arrivi,  a  river  ; 
nau,  (Gr.  vavg)  a  ship  ;  ghau,  a  cow  ;  sarpam,  a  serpent  ;  you 
might  easily  fancy  that  you  heard  dialects  of  languages  much  nearer 
home  :  and  yet  they  all  belong  to  the  Asiatic  languages  I  have 
already  mentioned.     So  far  indeed  may  this  comparison  be  carried. 


*  See  a  copious  list  of  tlie  authors  who  liavf;  written  in  favor  of 
tiie.se  affinities,  in  Dr.  Dorn,  "  Ueber  die  Vorvvandschafi  rles  [)cirsisclien 
germaniticiien,  und  griechiscli-lateiiiischen  Spniclistainnies,"  p.  i)l-l20  ; 
Hamb.  1827 ;  and  of  those  who  have  opposed  them,  p.  120 — 135. 

t  "  Researches  into  the  origin  and  affinity  of  the  principal  languages 
of  Asia  and  Europe,"  London,  1828,  at  the  end  of  the  work. 


iSTUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  3'i 

that  fanciful  etymologists  like  Von  Hammer,  will  derive  such  pure 
English  words  as  bed-room,  from  the  Persian.* 

But  this  verbal  coincidence  would  have  proved  by  no  means  sat- 
isfactory to  a  large  body  of  philologers,  had  it  not  in  due  course  been 
followed  by  a  still  more  important  conformity  in  the  grammatical 
structure  of  these  languages.  Bopp,  in  1816,  was  the  first  to  exam- 
ine this  subject  with  any  degree  of  accuracy ;  and  by  a  minute  and 
sagacious  analysis  of  the  Sanskrit  verb,  compared  with  the  conjuga- 
tional  system  of  the  other  members  of  this  family,  left  no  further  doubt 
of  their  intimate  and  primitive  affinity  ;t  since  which  time  he  has 
pushed  his  re?earches  much  further,  and  commenced  the  publication 
of  a  more  extensive  work. J 

By  the  analysis  of  the  Sanskrit  pronouns,  the  elements  of  those 
existing  in  all  the  other  languages  are  cleared  of  their  anomalies  ;  the 
verb  substantive,  which  in  Latin  is  composed  of  fragments  referable 
to  two  distinct  roots,  here  finds  both  existing  in  regular  form  ;  the 
Greek  conjugations,  with  all  their  complicated  machinery  of  middle 
voice,  augments  and  reduplications,  are  here  found  and  illustrated 
in  a  variety  of  ways,  which  a  few  years  ago  would  have  appeared 
chimerical.  Even  our  own  language  may  sometimes  receive  light 
from  the  study  of  distant  members  of  our  family.  Where  for  instance, 
are  we  to  seek  the  root  of  our  comparative  better  7  Certainly  not  in 
its  positive  good,  nor  in  the  Teutonic  dialects  in  which  the  same 
anomaly  exists.  But  in  the  Persian,  we  have  precisely  the  same 
comparative  r^^^  behtcr,  with  exactly  the  same  signification,  regu- 
larly formed  from  its  positive  ^^  belt,  good,  just  as  we  have  in  the 
same  language  r^^^  badtcr,  worse,  from  '^•^  bad. 

Having  brought  these  two  languages  into  contact,  I  cannot  for- 
bear expressing  some  surprise  at  several  observations  upon  the  sub- 
ject contained  in  the  valuable  work  by  Colonel  Kennedy,  to  which  I 
have  already  referred.  He  says,  for  instance,  that  "  the  slightest 
examination  of  Persian  grammar  must  show  it  radically  different  from 

*  See  his  comparative  tables  in  almost  every  number  of  the  ''  Wie- 
ner Jahrhiicher,"  for  several  years  past. 

f  "Franz  Bopp,  liber  das  Corijiigazionssystem  der  Sanskritsprache, 
in  Vergleicliung  mit  jenem  der  greich.  latein,  persich.  und  germanischen 
Sprache,"  Fran^/.  18 1 G. 

X  "  Vergleichende  Grammatik   des  Sanskrit,   Zend,   Griechischen, 
Lateinischen,  Littauischen,  Gothisch.  und  Deutschen,"  Berlin,  1833. 
.5 


34  LECTURE    THE    FIRST. 

that  of  German.  In  neither  words,  therefore,  nor  in  grammatical 
structure,  do  the  German  and  Persian  languages  possess  any  affinity."* 
I  cannot  conceive  how  any  one  who  has  perused  Bopp's  work,  and 
still  less  how  any  one  who  has  read  a  hundred  pages  in  the  two  lan- 
guages, could  deny  the  marked  affinity  between  their  respective 
grammars.  I  must  at  the  same  time  observe,  that  to  institute  a  fair 
comparison  between  them  we  must  not  merely  take  the  German  as 
at  present  existing,  but  examine  its  older  forms  as  given  and  proved 
in  Grimm's  splendid  grammar.  We  shall  there  discover,  for  instance, 
forms  of  the  verb-substantive  bearing  the  closest  relation  to  the  Per- 
sian conjugation.  But  of  one  part  of  his  assertion  the  learned  author, 
sixty  pages  later,  affords  sufficient  confutation,  when  he  tells  us  that 
"  it  must  be  further  remarked  that  the  only  languages  in  which  San- 
skrit words  exist,  are  the  Greek,  Latin,  Persian,  and  Gothic,  and  the 
vernacular  dialects  of  India."!  Surely  this  acknowledged  affinity 
of  the  two  languages  to  a  third,  whereby  they  are  as  it  were  admitted 
into  the  family  whereof  it  is  the  head,  as  in  strict  relationship  with 
it,  must  imply  a  mutual  connexion  between  them.  In  another  place 
too,  he  seems  to  deny  all  affinity  between  the  Sanskrit  and  Persian 
grammars  ;|  and,  in  the  passage  I  have  quoted,  as  well  as  elsewhere, 
he  clearly  excludes  the  Slavonian  from  this  family,  though  its  rights 
to  enter  it  are  now  universally  acknowledged.  Throughout  the 
course  of  his  interesting  work,  it  is  certainly  painful  to  see  the  author 
so  unwilling  to  do  justice  to  his  predecessor's  merits  ;  and  the  severe 
censure  which  he  has  bestowed  upon  others,  has  been  naturally 
enough  the  measure  of  consideration  shown  him  in  domestic,  but  still 
more  in  foreign,  reviews. 

You  see  at  once,  and  I  shall  have  to  return  again  to  this  subject, 
how  the  formation  of  this  vast  family  greatly  diminishes  the  number 
of  independent  original  languages  ;  and  other  great  genera,  if  I  may 
so  call  them,  have  been  equally  well  defined.  Of  the  Semitic  lan- 
guages I  need  not  speak  ;  for  the  intimate  relationship  between  the 
dialects  which  form  them,  the  Hebrew,  Syro-Chaldaic,  Arabic,  and 
Gheez  or  Abyssinian,  has  long  been  acknowledged,  and  applied  to 
another  science  so  important  as  to  deserve  later  a  particular  dis- 
course.§  But  the  Malay,  as  it  has  been  generally  called,  presents  a 
similar  result  in  modern   ethnography  to  that  of  our  former  investiga- 

*  P.  157.  f   P.  206,  also  p.  9.  |  F.  187. 

"5  See  the  "  Lecture  on  Sacred  Oriental  Studies." 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  35 

tion.  According  to  both  Marsden  and  Crawfurd,  this  language  or 
family  should  rather  be  called  the  Polynesian,  as  the  Malay  properly 
so  called  is  only  one  dialect  of  it,  and  may  be  called  the  lingua  franca 
of  the  Indian  archipelago.  In  all  the  languages  composing  this 
group,  there  is  a  great  tendency  to  the  monosyllabic  form  and  to  the 
rejection  of  all  inflexion,  thus  approximating  to  the  neighboring 
group  of  Transgangetic  languages,  with  which  indeed  Dr.  Leyden 
seems  to  unite  them.  "  The  vernacular  Indo-Chinese  languages  on 
the  continent,"  he  writes,  "  seem  to  be  in  their  original  structure 
either  purely  monosyllabic,  like  the  spoken  languages  of  China,  or 
they  incline  so  much  to  this  class,  that  it  may  be  strongly  suspected 
that  the  kw  original  polysyllables  they  contain,  have  either  been  im- 
mediately derived  from  the  Pali,  or  formed  of  coalescing  monosylla- 
bles. These  languages  are  all  prodigiously  varied  by  accentuation, 
like  the  spoken  language  of  China."*  Now,  among  these  languages 
he  reckons  the  Bugis,  Javanese,  Malayu,  Tagala,  Batta,  and  others, 
which  are  allied  not  only  in  words  but  in  grammatical  construction. t 
Crawfurd,  confining  his  observation  within  rather  narrower  limits, 
comes  to  the  same  conclusion.  Javanese  he  considers  as  presenting 
most  elements  of  the  language  which  forms  the  basis  of  all  in  this 
class;  and  it  is  peculiarly  deficient  in  grammatical  forms,|  which 
may  be  said  no  less  of  the  Malayan  dialect.§  Indeed,  he  too  has 
recognised  so  strong  a  resemblance,  not  only  of  words  but  of  struc- 
ture, in  the  languages  spoken  all  through  the  Indian  Archipelago,  as 
to  warrant  their  being  classed  in  one  family. ||  Marsden  is  still  more 
explicit,  and  extends  the  limits  of  the  group  a  good  deal  further. 
"Besides  the  Malayan,"  says  he,  "  there  are  a  variety  of  languages 
spoken  in  Sumatra,  which  however  have  not  only  a  manifest  affinity 
among  themselves,  but  also  to  that  general  language  which  is  found 
to  prevail  in,  and  be  indigenous  to,  all  the  islands  of  the  eastern  sea, 
from  Madagascar  to  the  remotest  of  Captain  Cook's  discoveries ; 
comprehending  a  wider  extent  than  the  Roman  or  any  other  tongue 
has  yet  boasted.     Indisputable  examples  of  this  connexion  and  simi- 

*  "Ou  the  Language  and  Literature  of  the  Indo-Chinese  Nations." 
Asiat.  Res.  vol.  x.  p.  1G2. 

t  P.  200. 

X  "  History  of  the  Indian  Archipelago."  Edin.  1820,  vol.  ii.  p.  5, 
seqq.  72,  78,  92,  etc. 

§  P.  41.  \  P.  78. 


36  LECTURE    THE    FIRST. 

larity  1  liavc   exhibited  in  a  paper  whicii  the   Society  of  Antiquaries 

have  done  me  the  honor  to  publish  in  their  Archmologia,  vol.  vii.   In 

different  places  it  has   been  more  or  less  mixed   and  corrupted,  but 

between  the  most  dissimdar  branches  an  evident  sameness  of  many 

radical  words  is  apparent,  and  in  some,  very  distant  from  each  other 

in  point  of  situation,  as  for  instance  the  Phillipines  and  Madagascar, 

the  deviation  of  the  words  is  scarcely  more  than  is  observed  in  the 

dialects  of  neiijhboring  provinces  in  the  same  kingdom."*     Thus, 

again  we  have  an  immense   family  stretching  over  a  vast  portion  of 

•  I  the  globe,  and  comprising  many  languages  which  a  few  years  ago 

i,l  were  considered  independent  ;  and  though  I  have  in   my  map  pre- 

^    1    served  the   two  perfectly  distinct,  it  would  almost  appear  as  if  some 

^j     i   1  affinity  might  be  allowed   between  the  Transgangetic  and  Malayan 

^   I  groups. 

This  first  great  step  of  modern  ethnographic  science,  you  will, 
I  am  sure,  acknowledge  to  be  of  great  interest  and  importance,  when 
viewed  in  reference  to  the  early  history  of  man.  Instead  of  being 
perplexed  with  a  multiplicity  of  languages,  we  have  now  reduced 
them  to  certain  very  large  groups,  each  comprising  a  great  variety  of 
languages  formerly  thought  to  be  unconnected,  and  thus  repre^en.,- 
jng,  as  it  were,  only  one  human  family  originally  possessing  a  single 
idiom.  Now  every  succeeding  step  has  clearly  added  to  this  advan- 
tage, and  diminished  still  further  any  apparent  hostility  between  the 
number  of  languages  and  the  history  of  the  dispersion.  For  I  have 
now  to  show  you  how  further  research  has  deprived  new  idioms  of 
their  supposedjindependence,  and  brought  them  into  classes  already 
discovered,  or,  at  least,  into  connexion  with  distant  languages.  For 
example,  the  march  of  the  Indo-European  family  was  supposed  by 
Malte-Brun,  in  1812,  to  be  completely  arrested  in  the  region  of  the 
Caucasus  by  the  languages  there  spoken,  as  the  Georgian  and  Arme- 
nian ;  which,  to  use  his  own  words,  "  formed  there  a  family  or  group 
apart. "t  But  Klaproth,  by  his  journey  to  the  Caucasus,  has  made 
it  necessary  to  modify  this  assertion  to  a  great  extent.  For  he  has 
proved,  or  at  least  rendered  it  highly  probable,  that  the  language  of 
one  great  tribe,  the  Ossetes  or  Alans,  belongs  to  the  great  family  I 
have  mentioned.^     Again,  Armenian,  which  Frederick  Schlegel  had 


*  "  History  of  Siunatra,"  Land.  1811,  p.  200. 

f  "  Precis  dc  la  Gt'ograjjliie  Uni verse! !e,"  totno  ii.  p.  580. 

\  "  L'analyse  de  la  Langue  dcs  Ossetes  fera  voir  qu'elle  aj)parlicnt 


STUDY    OK    LANGUAGES.  37 

formerly  considered  a  species  of  intermediate  langupge,  rather  hang- 
ing on  the  skirts  of  the  same  group  than  incorporated  tlierewith,*  has 
been  by  Klaproth,  upon  grammatical  as  well  as  lexical  examination, 
proved  fairly  to  belong  to  it.t  The  Afghan  or  Pushtoo  has  shared 
the  same  fate.^ 

But  the  greatest  accession  which  this  family  has  received  by 
means  of  a  diligent  and  judicious  study  of  the  analogies  of  languages, 
is  undoubtedly  that  of  the  entire  Celtic  family,  which,  with  its  nume- 
rous dialects,  must  now  be  content  to  form  only  a  province  of  the 
Indo-European.  Balbi,  in  his  Ethnographic  Atlas,  which  I  will  de- 
scribe to  you  later,  has  placed  the  Biscayan  and  Celtic  languages  in 
one  Tableau ;  not,  of  course,  because  he  considers  them  as  having 
any  thing  in  common,  but  because  they  were  apparently  out  of  the 
pale  of  those  idioms  by  which  they  are  surrounded.  Colonel  Ken- 
nedy boldly  asserts,  "  that  the  Celtic  has  no  connexion  with  the  lan- 
guages of  the  East,  either  in  words  or  phrases,  or  the  construction 
of  sentences."*^  But  a  still  later  writer  has  discussed  the  question 
with  all  the  forms  of  the  exploded  school,  and  endeavored  to  examine 
the  origin  of  the  Celtic  nations,  by  processes  which  on  the  continent 
are  almost  forgotten.  I  allude  to  the  work  entitled,  "  The  Gael  and 
the  Cymbri."||  To  deny  it  the  praise  of  ingenuity  and  curious  re- 
search would  assuredly  be  unjust ;  but  the  two  great  ethnographic 
points  therein  treated,  the  radical  difference  between  the  Welsh  and 
Irish  languages,  and  the  Phenician  or  Semitic  origin  of  the  latter, 
are  certainly  managed  with  all  that  unsatisfactory  display  of  etymology 
which  has  been  long  since  rejected  from  this  study.  If  we  wish  to 
establish  the  Irish  language  as  a  Phenician  dialect,  the  process  is 
very  simple.  We  know  from  the  most  undoubted  sources  that  the 
Phenician  and  the  Hebrew  were  two  sister  dialects  :  compare,  there- 
fore, the  grammatical  structure  of  this  language  and  Irish,  and  the 
result  will  solve  the  problem.  Now,  instead  of  this  simple  method, 
see  how  our  author  proceeds.  The  names  of  places  on  the  Spanish 
and  other  coasts  were  given  by  the  Phenicians  ;  now  these  names 


a  la  souche  Medo-Persane."  —  Voyage  au  Mont  Caucase,  at  en  Georgia, 
Paris,  1823,  vol.  ii.  p.  448.  see  p.  470,  seqq. 

*  "Ueber  die   Spraclie   und   Weisheit  der   Indier,"  Htidtlb.  1808, 
p.  77. 

t  Asia  Polyglotta,  p.  99.  |  lb.  p.  57.  §  Ubi  sup.  p.  85. 

D  By  Sir  W.  Bethani,  Dublin,  1834. 


38  LECmiE   THK   FIRST. 

can  all  be  explained  in  Irisli,  therefore  the  Irish  and  Phenician  lan- 
guages are  identical.  A  kw  years  ago  an  eminent  geographer  pub- 
lished an  essay  in  a  French  journal,*  wherein  he,  by  a  similar  pro- 
cess, derived  many  African  names  of  places  from  Hebrew,  so  to  es- 
tablish their  Phenician  origin.  Klaproth,  in  a  letter  under  the  Danish 
name  of  Kierulf,  confuted  these  etymologies  by  proposing  two  new 
ones  for  each  name,  the  one  from  Turkish,  the  other  from  Russian.! 
This  may  suffice  to  show  how  unsatisfactory  such  processes  are. 
For  the  author  never  takes  the  pains  to  prove  that  the  character  of 
the  places  corresponds  to  the  Irish  interpretation  of  their  names.  To 
examine  his  etymologies  in  detail  would  be  indeed  tedious  ;  but  I 
cannot  refrain  from  taking  a  few  examples  at  random.  Some  names 
which  we  know  to  be  Phenician,  and  which  correspond  in  that  lan- 
guage to  the  exact  character  of  the  places  they  represent,  must  go  to 
Irish  to  receive  new  ones,  which  will  do  as  well  for  any  other.  Thus 
Tyre,  in  Phenician  ITir  Tziir,  a  rock,  a  meaning  to  which  allusion 
is  repeatedly  made  in  Scripture,  is  derived,  according  to  him,  from 
Tir,  a  land  or  city  ;  when  we  might  just  as  well  derive  it  from  the 
Chaldaic  T^U  Ti?^  a  palace.  Palmyra  and  Tadmor,  which  are  exact 
translations  of  one  another,  meaning  the  city  of  palms,  must  be  de- 
rived from  Irish  words  :  the  one  meaning  the  palace  of  pleasure  ;| 
the  other,  the  great  house  :  and  Cadiz,  or  Gadir,  as  it  was  originally 
called,  must  no  longer  signify,  as  the  word  does  graphically  in  Phe- 
nician, the  island  or  peninsula;  but  after  the  Irish  word  cadaz,  which 
only  resembles  the  modern  corruption  of  the  name,  must  signify 
glory. ^  Again,  taking  a  set  of  names,  not  of  places  but  of  people, 
ending  by  a  common  adjective  termination  in  tani  ;  these  are  cut  in 
two,  and  the  termination  is  made  to  be  the  Irish  word  tana,  country. 
I  might  just  as  well  go  to  the  Malayan  for  their  interpretation ;  for 
there  also  tanah  means  a  country,  as  Tanah  Papuah,  the  country  of 
the  Papuas.||     But  just  let  us  take  one  example:  Lacetani  means, 


*  "  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voyages,"  Feb.  1824. 
f  In  an  appendix  to  his  "  Beleiichtung  imd  Widerlegung  dor  For- 
schungen,  u.  s.  w.  dcs  Herrn  J.  J.  Schmidt,"  Paris,  1824. 

I  Tlio  word  palas  is  manifestly  identical  with  palace,  palalium,  the 
Palatine  liill,  then  the  residence  of  the  Caesars,  and  so  a  palace.  How 
did  the  Phenicians  possess  it  ? 

§  Pp.  100,  104. 

II  Seo  "  Trans,  of  R.  A.  S."  vol.  iii.  p.  1.  1831. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  39 

according  to  our  author,  the  country  of  milk.  Why  not,  therefore, 
from  lac,  milk,  by  a  regular  formation,  derive  lacetum  like  spinetum 
or  rosetum,  a  place  abounding  in  milk  ;  and  so  again,  in  regular 
order,  Lacctani,  the  inhabitants  of  such  a  country.  Surely,  if  we 
are  to  make  such  etymologies,  is  not  this  more  regular  than  the  Irish 
one,  lait  milk,  o  of,  tana  country  ?*  But  suffice  it  to  say,  that  Latin, 
Biscayan,  and  even  Spanish  words  suffer  strange  changes  into  Irish 
to  work  out  this  untenable  hypothesis.!  Then,  as  to  the  grammati- 
cal analysis  proposed  in  this  work,  to  prove  that  Welsh  and  Irish 
have  nought  in  common,  I  must  say,  that,  in  spite  of  its  obscurities, 
it  produced  on  my  mind  exactly  a  contrary  impression,  and  seemed 
to  me  to  prove,  before  I  had  seen  the  valuable  work  to  which  I  shall 
just  now  refer,  that  both  belonged  to  the  same  family,  and  that  the 
Indo-European. 

I  may  have  appeared  to  you  more  full  and  severe  in  my  remarks 
upon  this  work  than  my  subject  required  ;  but  I  will  own  that  more 
than  once  I  have  been  exposed  to  the  mortification  of  hearing  our 
English  ethnographers  blamed,  as  falling  far  below  the  advanced 
position  of  foreign  philologers  ;  and  assuredly,  when,  after  perusing 
the  learned,  judicious,  and  satisfactory  inquiries  of  Baron  Humboldt, 
from  the  Biscayan,  into  the  very  names  so  disfigured  in  this  book, 
and  admiring  the  sound  philosophical  and  philological  principles 
which  guide  him  at  every  step,!  we  take  up  a  work  published  since 
his,  and  going  over  the  same  ground,  upon  a  system  of  fanciful  ety- 
mologies derided  to  scorn  by  continental  linguists,  it  is  hard  to  for- 
bear feeling  a  lively  regret,  that  we  should  be  subject  to  the  re- 
proaches of  our  neighbors,  and  that  what  they  have  already  done 
should  be  apparently  overlooked  amongst  us.     When  we  are  obliged 

*  P.  104. 

f  For  instance,  we  are  told  that  Llanes  comes  from  lean,  a  swampy 
plain  ;  while  llano  in  Spanish  is  the  strict  re[)resentation  of  planus,  and 
means  precisely  the  saiue.  Puenta  Rio  de  la  (Rio  de  la  Piienta),  from 
puinte,  a  point,  (again  of  Indo-Germanic  origin),  and  not  from  the 
Spanish  pucnte,  a  bridge.  Cantabri  means  heads  high  above  !  etc. 
pp.  107,  109,  111. 

\  In  his  interesting  "  Prliftmg  der  Untersnchung  iiher  die  Urbe- 
wohner  HisiJaniens,"  Berlin,  1821.  Compare  Sir  W.  Betham's  deriva- 
tion of  Asturias  from  as,  a  torrent,  and  sir,  a  country,  (p.  ]06,)  with  the 
learned  German's  disquisition  on  thai  name  as  found  in  Spain  and 
Italy,  p.  114. 


40  LECTURE    THE    FIRST. 

to  put  forward  as  our  greatest  ethnographer,  one  who,  like  Dr.  Mur- 
ray blends  the  rarest  erudition  with  the  most  ridiculous  theories,  — 
who  with  a  profound  knowledge  of  many  languages,  maintains  that 
all  those  of  Europe  have  their  origin  from  nine  absurd  monosyllables, 
expressive  of  different  sorts  of  strokes  :*  when  a  philosopher  held 
greatly  in  respect  by  his  school,  so  late  as  1827,  speaks  of  the  affinity 
between  Greek  and  Sanskrit  as  something  new  and  strange  :  refers 
to  "  a  German  publication  of  Francis  Bopp,"  and  an  "  Essay  on  the 
Language  and  Philosophy  of  the  Indians,  by  the  celebrated  Mr.  F, 
Schlegel,"  as  works  yet  unknown  to  us  except  through  the  quota- 
tions of  a  review ;  mentions  Gebelin,  De  Brosses,  and  Leibnitz,  as 
the  best  authorities  upon  these  studies  ;  and  occupies  many  pages  in 
attempting  to  prove  that  Sanskrit  is  a  jargon  made  up  from  Greek 
and  Latin,  and  illustrates  his  position  from  kitchen-Latin  and  maca- 
ronic verses  :f  when  a  learned  linguist  professes  to  prove  the  confor- 
mity of  the  European  with  Oriental  languages,  and  for  that  purpose 
confuses  together  primary  and  derivative,  ancient  and  modern,  Semi- 
tic and  Lido-European  words  ;  giving  such  terms  from  the  Arabic  as 
astrolabe  and  melancholy ,  which  it,  as  well  as  we,  received  from  the 
Greeks  :t  when,  in  short,  in  the  very  last  year,  we  have  a  divine,  I 
believe  of  some  celebrity,  bringing  this  very  study  to  bear  upon  the 
Mosaic  history,  by  completely  overlooking  all  its  modern  results,  and 
considering  the  Teutonic,  Greek,  and  Semitic  as  forming  the  three 
principal  ethnographic  reigns  ;  telling  us  that  "  the  construction  of 
the  three  great  families  of  language,  the  oriental,  the  western,  and 
the  northern,  is  actually  so  distinct  that  a  new  wonder  arises  from 
the  perfect  adequacy  of  each  to  perform  all  the  purposes  of  human 
communication  :"§  when  we  see  so  many  others  amongst  us,  whom 

*  These  are  :  —  \.  ag,  wag,  hivag.  2.  bag  or  bwag.  3.  dwag. 
4.  civag.  5.  lag.  (3.  mag.  7.  nag.  8.  rag.  9.  swag.  "  History," 
etc.  id  sup.  p.  31.  "By  the  help  of  tliese  nine  words  and  their  com- 
pounds, all  the  European  languages  have  been  formed  !"  p.  39. 

t  These  observations  will  all  be  found  in  DugaJd  Stewart's  "  Ele- 
ments of  the  philosophy  of  the  Human  Mind,"  vol.  iii.  Lond.  1827, 
p.  100—137. 

X  See  "A  Specimen  of  the  Conformity  of  the  European  Languages, 
j)articularly  the  English  with  the  Oriental  Languages."  By  Stephen 
Weston,  B.  D.  Lond.  1802. 

§  "Divine  Providence:  or,  the  Three  Cycles  of  Revelation,"  by 
the  Rev  G.  Croly,  LL.D.     Lond.  1834.  c.  xxii.  p.  301.      Nothing  can 


STUDY   OF  LANGUAGES. 


41 


it  would  be  long  to  enumerate,  pertinaciously  clinging  to  the  old 
dreams  of  Hebrew  etymologies, 

"  Trattando  I'ornbre  come  cosa  salda;" 

we  cannot  but  feel  that  the  reproach  made  against  us  is  but  too  well 
grounded,  that  we  have  neglected  to  keep  pace  with  the  progress  of 
this  science  upon  the  continent ;  and  be  keenly  mortified  when  we 
meet,  instead  of  amendment,  another  repetition  of  what  has  hereto- 
fore justified  the  charge. 

But  from  this  unpleasant  and  unwilling  censure,  which  I  trust 
will  not  be  often  called  for  in  the  course  of  our  meetings,  I  am 
agreeably  recalled  by  a  work  to  which  I  am  happy  to  say  I  can  give 
unqualified  praise : 

XalfiOi  Si  nqoacfOQOV 

' Ev  fisv  SQyu)  y.6[j,nov  idg  ;* 

and  which  leads  us  back  to  the  matter  whence  we  have  so  long  di- 
gressed. For  you  may  perhaps  have  almost  forgotten  that  we  were 
discussing  the  propriety  of  uniting  the  Celtic  dialects  to  the  Indo- 
European  family.  This  question  may  be  now  considered  as  fairly 
set  at  rest,  by  the  valuable  and  interesting  work  of  Dr.  Prichard,  On 
the  Eastern  Origin  of  the  Celtic  Nations.^  In  an  earlier  publica- 
tion to  which  I  shall,  on  a  future  occasion,  have  to  refer  very  frequent- 
ly, he  had  entered  into  a  partial  analysis  of  the  Welsh  numerals  and 
verbs,  and  concluded  that  the  admission  of  this  language  into  the 
family  so  often  named,  "  would  have  been  allowed,  if  it  had  under- 
gone a  similar  investigation  to  the  others,  from  persons  competent  to 
form  an  opinion  on  its  analogies."!  Bat  in  the  present  work  he  has 
put  the  affinity  of  the  Celtic  with  the  Indo-European  languages 
above  all  doubt.  First  he  has  examined  the  lexical  resemblances, 
and  shown  that  the  primary  and  most  simple  words  are  the  same  in 
both,  as  well  as  the  numerals,  and  elementary  verbal  roots.§     Then 


be  more  incorrect  than  the   description   wliich   follows   this  passage  of 
the  characteristics  of  each  family  so  formed. 

*  Pindar,  Nem.  8.  82.  f  Oxford,  1831. 

J  "Researches  into  the  Physical  History  of  Man  ;"  London,  1826, 
vol.  2.  p.  168,  comp.  p.  622. 

§  p.  3G — 88.  It  may  however  be  worth  while  observing  that  Jakei 
has  shown  all  the  words  given  by  the  ancients  as  Celtic,  to  be  German. 
"Der  germanische  Ursprung  der  lateinischen  Sprache  ;"  Bresl.  1830,  p. 

6 


42  LECTURE    THE    FIRST. 

follows  a  minute  analysis  of  the  verb,  directed  to  show  its  analogies 
with  other  languages,  and  they  are  such  as  manifest  no  casual  coin- 
cidence, but  an  internal  structure  radically  the  same.  The  verb- 
substantive,  which  is  minutely  analyzed,  presents  more  striking 
analogies  to  the  Persian  verb  than  perhaps  any  other  language  of  the 
family.^  But  Celtic  is  not  thus  become  a  mere  member  of  this  con- 
federacy, but  has  brought  its  most  important  aid.  For  from  it  alone 
can  be  satisfactorily  explained  some  of  the  coujugational  endings  in 
the  other  languages.  For  instance,  the  third  person  plural  of  the 
Latin,  Persian,  Greek,  and  Sanskrit,  ends  in  nt,  nd,  vii  ino,  and  nti 
I  or  nt.  Now  supposing,  with  most  grammarians,  that  the  inflexions 
arose  from  the  pronouns  of  the  respective  persons,  it  is  only  in  Celtic 
that  we  find  a  pronoun  that  can  explain  this  termination.  For  there 
too  the  same  person  ends  in  nt,  and  thus  corresponds  exactly,  as  do 
the  otliers,  with  its  pronoun  hwynt,  or  i/nf.j 

This  circumstance  certainly  gives  Welsh  an  important  place 
among  the  languages  composing  this  great  family.  It  must  not,  how- 
ever, thereby  receive  any  undue  advantage  over  the  others,  or  be 
considered  as  approaching  nearer  to  the  original  stock.  For  this  is 
yet  an  important  problem  to  be  solved,  that  is,  to  ascertain,  the  order 
of  filiation,  if  it  exist,  or  the  rights  of  primogeniture,  among  its  mem- 
bers. Sanskrit,  instead  of  the  made-up-jargon  it  was  supposed  to  be 
by  Stewart,  is  considered  by  most  ethnographers  the  oldest  and 
purest  form  ;  Latin  resembles  it  in  many  respects  more  than  Greek, 
and  yet  Jakel  has  lately  endeavored  to  prove  that  it  is  derived 
through  Teutoiiic.  Ke  has  indeed  brought  many  examples  of  Latin 
words  which  want  their  signification  unless  we  recur  to  German,  as 
fenestra,  v,-hich  through  the  cognate  word  fensfcr  is  explained  from 
Jinster,  dark,  having  originally  signified,  according  to  him,  the  shut- 
ters or  lattice;  and  of  others  v/hich  have  no  roots  except  there,  such 
as  prcBsagire  and  sagus,  which  find  in  German  the  verb  sagen, 
whence  wahrsagen,  for  sufficient  root.t  Such  speculations  must  not, 
however,  be  indulged  in  too  much;  for  a  root  once  common  to  both 
languages  may  have  been  lost  in  one,  and  preserved  in  another, 
though  both  are  independent  in  descent.  Thus  we  are  every  mo- 
ment obliged  to  recur  to   the   Arabic   for   roots  now   wanting   in 


11.  Does  this  arise  tiitirely  fiotii  family  afiiiiity,  or  from  confusion  in 
the  ancients,  who  took  little  pains  to  study  whut  lijpy  deemed  barbarous 
languages  ? 

•  Sue  p.  171,  seqq.         f  P.  130—138.  \  Ubi  sup.  p.  13. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  43 

Hebrew  ;  yet  no  one  would  thence  conclude  the  Arabic  origin  of  the 
Hebrew  tongue.  Minute  grammatical  analysis  will  alone  put  us  in 
possession  of  correct  conclusions  upon  this  subject. 

While  the  Indo-European  family  is  thus  gradually  more  rounded, 
as  well  as  increased  in  its  territorial  limits,  and  the  number  of  its 
members  daily  increases,  other  languages,  the  connexions  whereof 
were  not  formerly  known,  have  been  found  allied  to  others  separated 
by  considerable  tracts  of  country,  so  nearly  as  to  form  with  them  a 
common  family.  I  will  content  myself  with  one  instance  in  Europe. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  last  century,  Sainovic,  followed  by  Gyar- 
mathi,  proved  that  Hungarian,  which  lies  like  an  island  surrounded 
by  Indo-European  languages,  belongs  essentially  to  the  Finnish  or 
Uralian  family,*  which  stretches  downwards,  as  it  were,  through  the 
Esthonian  and  Livonian,  to  join  it.f  In  Africa  too,  the  dialects 
whereof  have  been  comparatively  but  little  studied,  every  new  re- 
search displays  connexions  between  tribes  extended  over  vast  tracts, 
and  often  separated  by  intermediate  nations;  in  the  north  between 
the  languages  spoken  by  the  Berbers  and  Tuariks,  from  the  Canaries 
to  the  Oasis  of  Siwa  ;  in  central  Africa,  between  the  dialects  of  the 
Felatahs  and  Foulas,  who  occupy  nearly  the  whole  interior  ;  in  the 
south,  among  the  tribes  across  the  whole  continent,  from  Caffraria 
and  Mozambique  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean. | 

But  it  is  time  that  we  should  pause  ;  first  looking  back  upon  what 
we  have  hitherto  gained,  thence  to  take  augury  for  those  more  inter- 
esting results  which  will  occupy  our  next  meeting.  We  have  seen 
then,  the  learned  world  slumbering  contented  with  the  hypothesis 
that  the  few  languages  known  might  be  all  resolved  into  one,  and 
that  one  probably  the  Hebrew.  Aroused  by  new  discoveries  which 
defied  this  easy  vindication  of  the  Mosaic  history,  they  saw  the  neces- 
sity of  a  totally  new  science  which  should  dedicate  its  attention  to 
the  classification  of  languages.  At  first  it  seemed  as  though  the  in- 
fant science  was  impatient  of  control,  and  its  earliest  progress  seem- 
ed directly  at  variance  with  the  soundest  truths.  Gradually,  how- 
ever, masses  which  seemed  floating  in  uncertainty,  came  together, 
and  like  the  garden  islands  of  the  Mexican  lake,  combined  into 


*  Sainovii  Demonstratio  Idioma  Uii<,'arornm  et  Lapponum  idem 
esse  ;"  Copenhag.  1770.  "  GyarmatI)),  Affinitas  Linguae  Hungaricse  cum 
Linguis  Fenuicse  originis,  graminatice  demonstrata,"  Golling.  1799. 

t  See  the  "  Ethnographic  Map,"  prefixed  to  this  volume. 

X  See  Prichard,  uhi  sup.  p.  7. 


44  LECTURE    THE    FIRST. 

compact  and  extensive  territories,  capable  and  worthy  of  the  finest 
cultivation.  The  languages,  in  other  words,  grouped  themselves 
into  various  large  and  well-connected  families,  and  thus  greatly  re- 
duced the  number  of  primary  idioms  from  which  others  have  sprung. 
And  after  this,  we  have  seen,  how  every  succeeding  research,  so  far 
from  weakening  this  simplifying  result,  has  on  the  contrary  still 
further  strengthened  it,  by  ever  bringing  new  tongues,  thought  be- 
fore to  be  independent,  into  the  limits  of  established  families,  or 
uniting  into  new  ones  such  as  promised  little  or  no  affinity.  Such 
are  the  first  two  results  of  this  science,  and  I  will  reserve  for  another 
day  its  further  advance. 

But  before  closing  this  lecture,  I  may  not  withhold  a  few  reflec- 
tions suggested  to  me  by  looking  back  on  the  sort  of  inquiry  I  have 
therein  followed.     For,  when  I  consider  how   many  different  men 
have  labored  almost   unwittingly  to  produce  the  results  I  have  laid 
before  you, — one  for  no  sensible  purpose  hunting  out  the  analogies 
of  this  speech,  another,  that  knew  not  wherefore,  noting  the  dialects 
of  barbarous   tribes,  a   third   comparing  together,  for  pastime,  the 
words  of  diverse  countries; — when  I  see  them  thus,  all  like  emmets 
bearing  their  small  particular  loads,  or  removing  some  little  obstruc- 
tion, and  crossing  and  recrossing  one  to  the  other,  as  though  in  total 
confusion,  and  to  the  utter  derangement  of  each  other's  projects; 
and  yet  when  I  discover  that  from  all  this  there  results  a  plan  of  ex- 
ceeding regularity,  order,  and  beauty  ;  it  doth  seem  to  me  as  though 
I  read  therein  signs  of  a  higher  instinct,  and  of  a  directing  influence 
over  the  thoughtless  counsels  of  men,  which   can  bring  them  unto 
great  and  useful  purposes.     And  such  methinks  is  to  be  found  in  the 
the  history  of  all  sound  learning.     For,  as  a  day  appearing  now  and 
then  of  brighter  and   warmer  sunshine  doth   foreshow  that  the  full 
burst  of  summer's  glory  is  about  to  break  upon  the  earth,  so  do  cer- 
tain  privileged    minds,   by  some  mysterious   communication,  ever 
foresee,  as  it  were,  or  rather  feel  sometime  beforehand,  and  announce 
the  ayjproach  of,  some  great  and  new  system  of  truth  ;  as  did  Bacon, 
of  philosophy  ;  and  Leibnitz,  of  our  science  ;  and  Plato,  of  a  holier 
manifestation.     Then  arise,  and  come  in  from  all  sides,  we  know  not 
how,  v/orkmen  and  patient  laborers,  like  those  who  cast  down  fag- 
gots under  a  foundation,  or  raise  stones  thereon  ;  whom  no  one  takes 
for  the  architects  or  builders  of  the  house,  for  they  know  and  compre- 
hend nought  of  its  plans  or  objects  ;  and  yet  every  stone  which  they 
place  fitteth  aright,  and  adds  to  the  usefulness  and  beauty  of  its  parts. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  ^^ 

And  so,  after  this  fashion,  by  the  work  of  many  conjoined,  though 
not  combined  in  any  plan,  a  science  is  builded  up  ui  fair  propor- 
tions, and  seemeth  to  stand  well  and  in  its  proper  place  among  the 
others  already  raised;  and  so  at  length  cometh  to  be  a  jomt,  as  i 
were  in  the  general  fitness  of  things,  and  a  maxim  m  the  universal 
truth'  and  a  tone  or  accord  in  the  harmony  of  nature. 

Now  T  cannot  persuade  myself  that  there  is  not  an  overseeing 
eye  in  this  ordering  of  things  dissimilar  to  one  great  end,  when  I  see 
that  this  great  end  is  the  confirmation  of  Gods  holy  word  ;  but 
rather  of  ?his  seeming  human   industry  I  would  say  with  the  divine 

poet ; — 

"  Lo  Motor  primo  a  lui  si  volge  lieto, 
Sovra  tant'  arte  di  natura,  e  spira 
Spirito  nuovo  di  virtu  repleto 
Che  ci6  che  truova  attivo  quivi,  lira 
In  sua  sustanzia  e  fassi  un'  alma  sola 
Che  vive  e  sente,  e  se  in  s6  rigira."* 

Dante,  "  Purgat:'  xxv. 

Not  that  He  partaketh  in  the  errors  and  follies  of  such  as  labor  in 
these  pursuits,  but,  as  He  useth  the  evils  of  this  world  for  the  most 
holy  purposes,  and  unfolds  often  therefrom  the  most  magnificent 
passages  of  His  blessed  providence,  so  may  He  here  overrule  and 
guide  even  the  ill-intended  labors  of  many,  and  so  dispose  thereof,  as 
that  a  new  and  beautiful  light  may  come  forth  upon  His  truths, 
when  such  is  most  truly  needed. 

Thus  would  I  consider  the  rise  and  development  of  any  new 
science,  as  entering  essentially  into  the  established  order  of  God's^ 
moral  government;  just  as  the  appearance,  from  time  to  time,  ot 
new  stars  in  the  firmanent,  according  to  what  astronomers  tell  us, 
must  be  a  pre-ordained  event  in  the  annals  of  creation.  And  if  you 
agree  with  me  in  these  reflections.^ou^will  alsomethrnks  feel  as  1 

*  "  Then  turns 

The  primal  mover  with  a  smile  of  joy 
On  such  great  work  of  nature  ;  and  imbreathes 
New  spirit  replete  with  virtue,  that  what  here 
Active  it  finds,  to  its  own  substance  draws  ; 
And  forms  an  individual  soul  that  lives, 
And  feels,  and  bends  reflective  on  itself."— 

Gary's  Translation. 


46  LECTURE    THE    FIRST. 

do,  that  in  tracing  the  history  of  any  pursuit,  we  are  not  so  much  in- 
dulging a  fond  curiosity,  or  following  the  progress  of  man's  ingenuity, 
as  watching  the  beautiful  courses  whereby  God  hath  gradually  re- 
moved the  veil  from  before  some  hidden  knowledge,  first  lifting  up 
one  corner  thereof,  then  another,  till  the  whole  is  rolled  away  ;  and 
you  will  with  me  delight  in  studying  the  purposes  and  applications 
thereby  intended,  both  towards  our  humble  instruction  and  His  in- 
creasing glory. 


LECTURE  THE   SECOND; 


COMPARATIVE  STUDY  OF  LANGUAGES. 


PART  II. 


SuMiMARY  OK  RESULTS  exposGcl  ill  the  preceding  Lecture.  —  Conlinua- 
lion. — Third;  Relatioiisljjp  between  tlie  different  families. —  Present 
state  of  tiie  study  ;  its  two  principal  Sciiools,  founded  on  the  com- 
parison of  words,  and  of  grammatical  forms.  —  Remarks  directed 
towards  reconciling  them.  —  Errors  regarding  the  siipposed  power 
of  development  in  Languages  ;  opinion  of  Humboldt.  —  Power  of 
external  circumstances  to  alter  the  grammatical  structure  of  a  lan- 
guage.—  Proposed  rule  for  the  comparison  of  words.  —  Dr.  Young's 
application  of  the  calculus  of  probabihlies  to  the  discovery  of  the 
conunon  origin  of  two  languages,  by  a  comparison  of  words.  —  Lep- 
sius  on  the  affinities  between  Hebrew  and  Sanskrit.  —  His  further 
and  inedited  researches  into  the  connexion  between  Hebrew  and 
ancient  Egyptian.  —  Pro[)osed  comparison  of  Semitic  and  Indo- 
European  grammatical  forms  (referred  to  a  note.)  —  Cottclusions  of 
modern  Ethnographers.  —  First  ;  That  all  language  was  originally 
one;  Ale.x.  von  Humboldt,  Academy  of  St.  Petersburgh,  Merian, 
Klaprotli,  Fred.  Schlegel.  —  SzcondUj  ;  That  the  separation  was  by 
a  violent  and  sudden  cause  ;  Herder,  Turner,  Abel-Remusat,  Nie- 
bidir,  Balbi. 

American  Languages.  —  Difficulties  arising  from  their  multiplicity.  — 
~  Attempts  of  Vater,  Smith-Barton,  and  Malte-Brun,  to  trace  them  to 
Asiatic  lang\iages.  —  Unity  of  family  proved  by  siniilarity  of  gram- 
mar ;  subdivision  into  groups.  —  Their  uutnl)er  accounted  for  by 
the  experience  of  the  science  ;  confirmation  of  their  Asiatic  origin 
from  other  coincidences.  —  General  remarks  on  the  providential  con- 

-*  nexion  of  the  different  states  of  religion  with  different  families  of  lan- 
guages. 

Albeit,  in  my  last  Discourse,  after  leading  you  through  a  com- 
pendious history  of  philological  Ethnography  in  ages  past,  I  brought 


48  LECTURE    THE    SECOND. 

you  into  our  own  times,  and  endeavored  to  make  you  acquainted 
with  the  labors  of  many  who  yet  live  ;  nevertheless,  I  may  be  said  to 
have  there  only  given  you  the  proeme,  as  it  were,  or  introduction  to 
the  modern  study,  and  to  the  principles  whereon  it  is  conducted. 
For,  such  was  the  abundance  of  matter  furnished  by  my  theme,  that, 
after  all  convenient  abridgement  used,  I  saw  myself  compelled  either 
to  abuse  your  patience  by  too  long  a  discourse,  or  divide  my  subject 
to  the  disparagement  of  its  better  understanding.  And  so,  choosing 
this  part,  which  threw  the  difficulties  upon  myself  rather  than  upon 
those  who  so  courteously  attend  me  : — 

"  Contro  il  placer  mio  per  piacerli, 
Trassi  dell'  acqua  non  sazia  la  s[)tigna."* 

In  requital  for  this,  I  must  request  you  to  summon  back  to  your 
recollection,  the  chiefest  points  whereof  we  seemed  to  have  gained 
sufficient  evidence;  and  these  are, 'that  the  comparative  study  of 
languages  has  brought  into  certain  relationship  many  which  hereto- 
fore had  seemed  divided  asunder,  forming  thereof  great  groups  or 
families,  so  that  nations  and  tribes  covering  vast  tracts  of  territory  are 
in  this  study  accounted  as  only  one  people ;  and  that  its  subsequent 
researches  teiid  in  every  instance  to  diminish  the  number  of  inde- 
pendent languages,  to  widen  the  pale  of  these  larger  provinces,  and 
to  bring  the  number  of  original  stocks  much  nearer  to  what  might  be 
supposed  to  have  arisen  on  a  sudden,  among  the  few  inhabitants  of 
the  earlier  world. 

The  next  important  point  to  be  ascertained  is,  whether  any  rela- 
tionship can  be  discovered  between  languages  of  different  families, 
so  as  to  deduce  that  they  have  once  been  in  closer  connexion  than 
at  present  ;  in  other  words,  that  they  descend  from  a  common  stock. 
Now,  the  inquiries  which  have  been  carried  on  to  ascertain  this  deli- 
cate and  important  point,  are  so  intimately  connected  with  the  present 
state  of  the  study,  and  the  schools  into  which  it  is  divided,  that  it 
becomes  absolutely  necessary  for  us  to  interrupt  our  course,  and  ex- 
amine this  actual  condition  of  philological  ethnography;  if,  indeed, 
we  are  to  call  an  interruption  what  essentially  enters  into  the  design 


[*  "  Against  my  own  pleasure,  for  the  sake  of  pleasing  them,  I 
drew  back  the  sponge,  not  satiated  with  water."  A  poetical  sentence, 
the  first  part  of  which  presents  a  sentiment  analogous  to  the  writer's 
determination  1 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  49 

of  our  original  plan.  As  one  of  the  schools  sets  hut  little  value  upon 
the  methods  pursued  by  the  other,  and  consequently  upon  the  results 
thence  gained,  it  would  be  unjust  to  receive  them  as  undisputed  ;  and 
I  should  be  deceiving  you  were  I  to  lay  before  you  these  results  as 
the  uncontested  discoveries  of  the  science,  or  without  explaining  how 
far  they  may  be  considered  satisfactory.  Two  things  I  will  premise ; 
first,  that  so  far  as  we  have  proceeded,  all  agree;  so  that  the  results 
I  have  laid  before  you  may  be  considered  as  quite  placed  out  of 
doubt ;  secondly,  that  you  will  find  we  have  suffered  nothing,  or 
rather  have  gained,  by  the  severer  principles  which  one  school  has 
adopted. 

The  principal  ethnographers  of  modern  times   may  be  divided 
into  two  classes  ;  one  whereof  seeks  the  affinity  of  languages  in  their 
words,  the  other  in   their   grammar;  their  methods  may  be  respec- 
tively called,   lexical  and  grammaticnl  comparison.     The  chief  sup- 
porters of  the  first  method  are  principally  to  be  found  in  France,  Eng- 
land, and   Russia  ;  such  as  Klaproth,  Balbi,  Abel-Remusat,  Whiter, 
Vans  Kennedy,  Gaulianoff,  the  younger  Adelung,  and  Merian.     In 
Germany,  Von  Hammer,  and  perhaps  Frederick  Schlegel,  might  be 
considered  as  of  the  same  school.     The  principle  followed  by  these 
writers   may  be  perhaps  summed  up  in  the  observation   made  some- 
where by  Klaproth,  that,  "  words  are  the  stuff  or  matter  of  language, 
and  grammar  its   fashioning  or  form."     And  in  a  work   by  the  late 
Baron   Merian,   which  Klaproth  edited,   we  have  all  the  principles 
whereon  he  and  his  school  conduct  the  study  clearly  and  systemati- 
cally laid  down,  with   all  the  results  they  have  thence  deduced.* 
The  other  class  is  confined  in  a  great  measure  to  Germany,  and 
reckons  W.  A.  von  Schlegel  and  the  lamented  Baron  W.  von  Hum- 
boldt among  its  most  distinguished  chiefs.     No  one  has  been  more 
explicit  or  more  energetic  in  denouncing  the  principles  of  the  other 
school  than  the  first  of  these  two  writers.     "  Viri  docti,"  says  he,  "  in 
eo  praecipue  peccare  mihi  videntur,  quod  ad  similitudinem  nonnulla- 
rum  dictionum  qualemcumque   animum   advertant,  diversitatem  ra- 
tionis  grammaticae  et  universse  indolis  plane  non  curant.     In  origine 
ignota  linguaruni  exploranda,  ante  omnia  respici  debet  ratio  gram- 
matica.     Haec  enim  a  majoribus  ad  posteros  propagatur  ;  separari 
autem  a  lingua  cui  ingenita  est  nequit,  aut  seorsum  populis  ita  tradi 
ut  verba  linguae  vernaculaB  retineant,  formulas  loquendi  peregrinas 


*  "  Principps  de  I'^tnde  comparative  des  lansrues,"  Paris,  1828. 
7 


50  LECTURE    THE    SECOND. 

recipiant."*  Here  you  see  that  we  have  two  most  important  asser- 
tions ;  that  grammar  is  an  essential  inborn  element  of  a  lar>guage  : 
and  that  a  new  grammar  cannot  be  separately  imposed  upon  a  peo- 
ple ;  but  that  if  they  accept  the  forms,  they  must  adopt  also  the  mat- 
ter of  a  language. 

Having  thus  stated  the  opinions,  or  rather  the  principles  of  these 
two  schools,  I  will  proceed  to  lay  before  you  such  reflections  and 
conclusions  as  I  have  been  led  to  in  the  prosecution  of  this  study  ; 
hoping,  that  as  they  are  presented  with  all  becoming  diffidence,  they 
may  be  still  somewhat  useful,  towards  narrowing  the  difference  be- 
tween the  schools  I  have  described. 

First  then  I  will  say,  that  authors  are  often  mistaken  when  they 
attempt  to  analyze  a  language,  with  a  view  of  ascertaining  its  primi- 
tive form.  Nothing  is  more  common  than  to  find,  in  very  judicious 
writers,  the  idea  that  there  is  in  languages  a  tendency  to  develope 
and  improve  themselves  ;  like  Home  Tooke  or  his  adversary,  they 
lead  us  back  to  periods  when  every  auxiliary  verb  had  its  real  mean- 
ing,t  and  when  every  conjunction  was  an  imperative.  Murray,  in 
like  manner,  speaks  of  the  stage  of  languages  when  compounds  and 
pronouns  were  first  invented  ;|  and  indeed  pretends,  as  I  mentioned 
at  our  last  meeting,  to  trace  all  languages  to  a  few  absurd  and  jing- 
ling monosyllables.  I  will  give  an  example  which  will  fully  e.vplain 
my  meaning.  If  we  analyze  the  Semitic  languages,  especially  the 
Hebrew,  we  can  easily  resolve  all  their  conjugational  system  into 
mere  additions  of  pronouns,  made  to  the  simple  elementary  form  of 
the  verb  ;  and  you  may  discover  in  their  words,  the  traces  of  mono- 
syllabic, instead  of  dissyllabic  roots,  which  they  now  present.  We 
should  thus  have  a  simple  language  composed  of  the  shortest  words, 
totally  devoid  of  inflexion,  and  determining  the  value  of  its  ele- 
ments by  position  in  a  sentence  ;  in  other  words,  a  language,  in 
structure,  closely  resembling  the  Chinese.  This,  certainly,  consid- 
ered in  reference  to  the  actual  state  of  the  family,  would  be  a  more 
simple,  or  a  primary  state,  from  which  the  present  might  be  thought 
to  have  arisen  by  the  gradual  development  of  many  ages  ;  and,  in 


*  "  Indische  Bii)liothek,"  1  Band,  3  Heft.  Bonn,  1822,  pp.  28.=>,  287. 
In  the  first  number,  (1820)  he  expresses  himself  in  still  stronger  terms. 

f  See  for  instance,  Fearn's  "  Anti-Tooke,"  vol.  i.  ;  London,  1824, 
p.  244. 

J  "History,  etc.,"  vol.  i.  p.  41, 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  51 

fact,  learned  men  have  not  been  wanting  who  so  thought.*  Now 
from  this  opinion,  which  1  confess  I  once  held,  I  nmst  totally  dissent : 
for  hitherto  the  experience  of  several  thousand  years  does  not  afford 
us  a  single  example  of  spontaneous  development  in  any  speech.  At 
whatever  period  we  meet  a  language,  we  find  it  complete  as  to  its 
essential  and  characteristic  qualities  ;  it  may  receive  a  finer  polish,  a 
greater  copiousness,  a  more  varied  construction;  but  its  specific  dis- 
tinctives,  its  vital  principle,  its  soul,  if  I  may  so  call  it,  appears  fully 
formed,  and  can  change  no  more.  If  an  alteration  does  take  place 
it  is  only  by  the  springing  up  of  a  new  language,  phoenix-like,  from 
the  ashes  of  another  ;  and  even  where  this  succession  has  happened, 
as  in  that  of  Italian  to  Latin,  and  of  English  to  Anglo-Saxon,  there 
is  a  veil  of  secrecy  thrown  over  the  change,  the  language  seems  to 
spin  a  web  of  mystery  around  itself,  and  enter  into  the  chrysalis  state  ; 
and  we  see  it  no  more  till  it  emerges,  sometimes  more,  sometimes 
less  beautiful,  but  always  hilly  fashioned,  and  no  further  mutable. 
And  even  there,  we  shall  see  tiiat  the  former  condition  held  already 
within  itself  the  parts  and  organs  ready  moulded,  which  were  one 
day  to  give  shape  and  life  to  the  succeeding  state. t 

The  two  languages  which  I  have  just  mentioned,  as  to  their 
essential  features,  or  rather  their  personality  and  principle  of  identity, 
are  as  perfect  in  the  oldest  as  in  the  latest  writers.  Of  Dante,  or 
the  Guidos,  I  need  not  sf)eak;  but  our  Chaucer  too,  assuredly  found 
in  his  native  tongue,  as  fully-stringed  and  as  sweetly-attuned  an  in- 
strument whereon  to  sing  his  lay,  <vs  Wordsworth  himself  could  de- 
sire. So  it  is  with  the  Hebrew  ;  in  the  writings  of  Moses,  and  in 
the  earlier  fragments  incorporated  into  Genesis,  the  essential  struc- 

*  The  reasoning  whereon  this  theory  rests  is  so  obvious  to  all  that 
are  acquainted  witli  these  languages,  that  it  is  only  a  woiuler  that  more 
authors  have  not  pursued  it.  See  Adelung's  "  Mithridates."  torn,  i.  p. 
301.  Klaproth,  "Observations  sur  les  racines  des  Langues  S6iiiiti- 
ques,"  at  the  end  of  "  Merian's  Principes,"  p.  209.  To  these  I  might 
add  the  authority  of  professed  Hebrew  scholars,  as  Michaelis,  Gesenius, 
Oberleitner,  etc, 

f  Thus  a  very  slight  study  of  the  decline  of  Latin,  will  show  us  the 
words  now  piu'e  Italian  becoiriing  common,  as  pensare,  to  think,  in  the 
writings  of  St.  Gregory,  or  the  preposition  f/e,  for  the  genitive.  Such 
forms  were  all  doubtless  common  long  before  among  the  vulgar.  In 
rude  sepulchral  inscriptions,  we  have  the  SS  for  the  X,  as  BISSIT  for 
ViXIT ;  nay,  I  remember  one  instance  where  this  verb  is  written  as. 
in  Italian,  (excepting  the  change  of  V  into  B)  BISSE. 


52  LECTURE    THE     SECOND. 

ture  of  the  language  is  complete,  and  apparently  incapable,  in  spite 
of  its  manifest  imperfection,  of  any  further  improvement.  The 
ancient  Egyptian,  as  written  in  hieroglyphics  upon  the  oldest  monu- 
ments, and  in  the  Coptic  of  the  liturgy,  after  an  interval  of  three 
thousand  years,  you  will  see  established  by  Lepsius  to  be  identical. 
The  same  will  be  observed  upon  comparing  the  oldest  with  the  latest 
Greek  or  Latin  writers.  The  case  of  the  last  is  particularly  striking, 
if  we  consider  tlie  opportunity  of  improvement  afforded  it  by  coming 
in  contact  with  the  former.  But  though  the  conquest  of  Greece 
brought  into  rude  Latium,  sculpture  and  painting,  poesy  and  history, 
art  and  science  ;  though  it  rounded  the  forms  of  its  periods,  and 
gave  new  suppleness  and  energy  to  its  language,  yet  did  it  not  add  a 
tense  or  declension  to  its  grammar,  a  particle  to  its  lexicon,  or  a  let- 
ter to  its  alphabet. 

For  in  sooth  we  may  lay  it  down  as  a  principle,  that  no  nation, 
from  a  sense  of  defect  in  its  present  language,  will,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  borrow  from  another,  or  produce  any  new  germs 
within  itself  How  comes  it  else,  that  Chinese,  so  devoid  of  gram- 
matical construction,  that  it  seems  the  very  copy  of  the  forms  of 
thought  expressed  in  signs  by  the  deaf  and  dumb,*  has  never  con- 
trived to  frame,  what  we  consider  indispensable  to  the  understanding 
of  speech  ?  Why  have  the  Semitic  languages,  after  thousands  of 
years'  neighborhood  with  languages  of  other  families,  never  generated 
a  present  tense,  or  compound  and  conditional  tenses  and  moods,  the 
want  whereof  so  much  perplexes  their  discourse  and  writing  ;  or  in- 
vented some  new  conjunctions,  to  relieve  the  copulative  van  from  the 
burthen  of  expressing  all  possible  relation  between  the  parts  of  a  dis- 
course ?  Nay,  how  comes  it,  that  after  ages  of  contact  with  more 
perfect  alphabets,  and  fully  owning  the  immense  difficulties  of  one 
without   vowels,  those  who   speak  them  have  never  succeeded   in 


*  The  (leaf  and  dumb  cannot  l)e  hroiiglit  to  use  tiie  granimalical 
gestures  invented  for  thorn  by  the  Al)!)6  Sicanl,  but  content  tlioinselves 
with  the  simple  signs  of  ideas,  leaving  the  structure  undetermined  l>y 
any  but  the  natural  order  of  connexion.  See  Degtrando,  "  De  I'Efhica- 
tion  dos  Sourds-inuets,"  Paris,  18'27,  torn.  i.  j).  580,  588.  The  follow- 
ing is  the  literal  translation  into  words  of  the  Our  Father,  as  expressed 
by  them  in  signs.  1.  Our,  2.  Fallier,  3.  heaven,  4.  in,  (sign  of  insertion) 
5.  tcish,  (sign  of  (h-awing  or  attraeling)  C>.  your,  (you)  7.  name,  8.  respect ; 
9.  wish,  10.  your,  11.  (over)  soitls,  Vi.  kins;^lom,  1.3.  (that  \^)  providence, 
14.  arrive;  15.  rvish,  10.  your,  17.  ivill,  18.  do,  U>.  heaven,  20.  cnrlh,  21. 
equality,  (in  like  maimer  as)  p.  589. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  53 

introducing  them  here,  but  resort,  to  this  day,  to  the  chimsy  expedi- 
ent of  troublesome  points?  And  the  one  which  has  attempted  a 
change,  the  Abyssinian,  has  only  produced  a  more  unnatural  and 
complicated  syllabic  alphabet,  full  of  trouble,  and  liable  to  innumer- 
able mistakes.  Were  there  such  a  thing  as  natural  development  in 
languages,  surely  so  many  ages  must  have  produced  it  in  these  in- 
stances. But  so  far  from  this  being  the  case,  the  earlier  stages  of  a 
language  are  often  the  most  perfect ;  and  the  late  researches  I  have 
so  often  referred  to,  made  by  Grimm  into  the  primitive  forms  of 
German  grammar,  are  far  from  establishing  the  tendency  of  a  lan- 
guage to  improve  ;  for  many  valuable  forms  have  been  therein  lost. 

To  speak  therefore  of  the  secondary  stages  of  a  language,  or  to 
suppose  it  must  have  required  centuries  for  it  to  arrive  at  any  given 
point  of  grammatical  development,  is  perfectly  against  experience. 
Languages  grow  not  up  from  a  seed  or  a  sprout;  they  are,  by  some 
mysterious  process  of  nature,  cast  in  a  living  mould,  whence  they 
come  out  in  all  their  fair  proportions  ;  and  that  mould  is  the  mind  of' 
man,  variously  modified  by  the  circumstances  of  his  outward  rela- 
tions. Here  again  I  cannot  but  regret  our  inability  to  comprehend 
in  one  glance  the  bearings  and  connexions  of  different  sciences;  for, 
if  it  appears  that  ages  must  have  been  required  to  buing  languages  to 
the  state  wherein  we  first  find  them,  other  researches  would  show  us 
that  these  ages  never  existed ;  and  we  should  thus  be  driven  to  dis- 
cover some  shaping  power,  some  ever-ruling  influence  which  could 
do  at  once  what  nature  would  take  centuries  to  effect;  and  the  book 
of  Genesis  has  alone  solved  this  problem. 

Although  I  may  have  already  appeared  to  you  diffuse  upon  this 
subject,  I  must  not  leave  it  without  giving  what  I  consider  the  strong- 
est confirmation  of  my  opinions,  the  judgment  of  the  truly  lamented 
William  von  Humboldt.  This  profound  linguist,  perhaps  beyond 
any  other,  brought  a  spirit  of  analytical  inquiry  in  contact  with  a 
vast  store  of  practical  ethnographic  knowledge,  and  used  the  study 
of  languages  in  a  way  that  few  have  done  besides,  as  a  means  to  ar- 
rive at  a  better  acquaintance  with  the  forms  of  thought,  and  with  the 
processes  of  mental  improvement.  And  if  to  valiant  knights  it  has 
been  a  praise  that  they  loved  to  die  with  their  harness  buckled  on, 
and  if  it  has  been  a  glory  to  some  orators  that  their  eloquence  burnt 
with  a  brighter  flame  just  before  it  was  quenched  forever  ;  assuredly 
his  is  a  fairer  commendation,  to  have  given  the  best  proof  of  the 
calm  power  of  thought  over  the  infirmities  of  our  nature,  and  shown, 


64  LECTURE    THE    SECOND. 

almost  in  death,  the  concentrating  hold  which  genius  may  keep  upon 
the  elements  of  a  long  and  meditative  life.  For  long  ago  he  had 
announced  to  his  friends  his  intention  of  drawing  up,  as  his  last 
legacy,  a  very  compendious  treatise  upon  the  philosophy  of  language  ; 
and  so,  within  these  few  months,  the  last  of  his  life,  reduced  by 
illness  to  such  a  state  of  miserable  weakness,  as  that  he  could  now 
no  longer  hold  in  his  hand  either  pen  or  book  ;  bending  over  his 
table  as  one  bowed  down  by  years,  he  seemed  to  gather  inward  those 
varied  energies  which  in  earlier  days  had  qualified  him  alike  for  a 
philosopher  or  a  statesman ;  and  dictated  a  profound  work  upon 
that  most  difficult  subject,  which,  when  published,  will  give  to  the 
world  a  noble  instance,  not  of  the  ruling  passion,  but  of  the  govern- 
ing intellect,  strong  in  death. 

When,  upon  the  advice  of  Abel-Remusat,  he  had  made  himself 
acquainted  in  a  short  period  with  the  Chinese  language,  he  lost  no 
time  in  requiting  him  by  a  most  interesting  letter  upon  grammatical 
forms.  Not  having  met  with  this  work  till  long  after  I  had  written 
down  the  reflections  I  have  just  made,  T  have  been  highly  gratified 
by  finding  in  it  precisely  the  same  views,  though  far  more  philoso- 
phically expressed.  "  Je  ne  regarde  pas  les  formes  grammaticales," 
he  says,  "comme  les  fruits  des  progres  qu'une  nation  fait  dans 
I'analyse  de  la  pensee,  mais  plutot  comme  un  resultat  de  la  maniere 
dont  une  nation  considere  et  traite  sa  langue."*  He  observes,  that 
in  the  Maya  and  Betoi,  two  American  languages,  there  are  two 
forms  of  the  verb,  one  that  marks  time,  the  other  simply  the  relation 
between  the  attribute  and  the  subject.  This  appears  highly  philoso- 
phical, yet  he  well  observes,  "  ces  rapprochemens  peuvent,  ce  me 
semble,  servir  a  prouver  que,  lorsqu'on  trouve  de  pareilles  particular- 
ites  dans  les  langues,  il  ne  faut  pas  les  attribuer  a  un  esprit  eminem- 
ment  philosophique  dans  leurs  inventeurs."t  I  will  take  the  liberty 
of  reading  one  more  extract,  as  admirably  expressing  what  I  have 
wished  to  inculcate.  "  Je  suis  penetre  de  la  conviction  qu'il  ne  faut 
pas  meconnaitre  cette  force  vraiment  divine  que  recelent  les  facul- 
tes  humaines,  ce  genie  createur  des  nations,  surtout  dans  I'etat 
primitif,  ou  toutes  les  idees,  et  meme  les  facultes  de  I'ame,  emprun- 
tent  une  force  plus  vive  de  la  nouveaute  des  impressions,  oij  I'homme 
pent  pressentir  des  combinaisons  auxquelles  il  ne  serait  jamais  arrive 
par  la   marche  lente    et   progressive   de   I'experience.      Ce   genie 

*  "Lettre  a  M.  Abel-R^irnisat,  sur  la  nature  des  formes  grammati- 
cales," etc.  par  JM.  Guill.  de  IJuniholdt,  Paris,  1827.  p.  13. 
t  P.  15. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  55 

createur  peut  franchir  les  limites  qui  semblenl  prescrites  an  reste  des 
mortels,  et  s'il  est  impossible  de  retracer  sa  marche,  sa  presence 
vivifiante  n'en  est  pas  moins  manifeste.  Plutot  que  de  renoncer 
dans  I'explication  de  I'origine  des  langues,  a  I'influence  de  cette 
cause  puissante  et  premiere,  et  de  leur  assigner  a  toutes  une  marche 
uniforme  et  mecanique,  qui  les  trainerait  pas  a  pas  depuis  le  com- 
mencement le  plus  grossier  jusqu'a  leur  perfectionnement,  j'embras- 
serais  I'opinion  de  ceux  qui  rapportent  I'origine  des  langues  a  une 
revelation  immediate  de  la  divinite.  lis  reconnaissent  aux  moins 
I'etincelle  divine  qui  luit  a  travers  tons  les  idiomes,  meme  les  plus 
imparfaits,  et  les  moins  cultives."*  Thus,  therefore,  does  this  dis- 
tinguished ethnographer  agree,  that  languages  do  not  reach  their 
peculiar  development,  as  it  is  erroneously  called,  by  slow  degrees, 
but  receive  it  from  some  unknown  energy  of  the  human  mind  ;  un- 
less, like  the  first  speech,  we  suppose  them  to  have  been  communica- 
ted from  above. 

Having  thus  denied  the  power  of  languages  to  produce  of  them- 
selves, and,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  even  to  alter  their 
grammatical  structure;  and  considering  this  not  merely  as  the 
outward  form  of  a  language,  but  as  its  most  essential  element,  we 
may  well  inquire  how  far  Schlegel  is  correct,  in  assuming  that  under 
no  circumstances  can  such  a  modification  or  change  take  place  ; 
and  I  will  take  the  liberty  of  saying,  that  some  instances  seem  to 
warrant  us  in  maintaining,  that  under  the  pressure  of  peculiar  in- 
fluences, a  language  may  undergo  such  alterations,  as  that  its 
words  shall  belong  to  one  class,  and  its  grammar  to  another.  It  is 
true,  that  in  that  case,  a  new  language  will  be  formed,  different 
from  either  of  its  parents,  but  still  it  will  depart  from  the  one  which 
preceded  it,  by  the  adoption  of  new  grammatical  forms.  Thus 
Schlegel  himself  allows,  that  Anglo-Saxon  lost  its  grammar  by  the 
Norman  conquest.t  And  may  we  not  say,  that  Italian  has  sprung 
out  of  the  Latin,  more  by  the  adoption  of  a  new  grammatical  system, 
than  by  any  change  in  words?  For  if  you  will  compare  any  works 
in  the  two  languages,  you  will  hardly  perceive  any  difference  in  the 
verbs  and  nouns  :  but  you  find  articles  borrowed  from  the  pronouns, 
a  total  loss  of  case,  and  consequently  of  all  declension  :  and  the  verbs 


*  P.  55,  compare  p.  51.     See  also  the  quotation    in   Lect.  i.  p.  10, 
note. 

t  De  studio  Etym.  ubi  sup.  p.  284. 


56  LECTURE    THE    SECOND. 

conjugated  almost  entirely  by  auxiliaries  in  the  active  voice,  and 
totally  deprived  of  a  passive  properly  so  called.  These,  in  fact,  are 
the  alterations  which  entitle  it  to  be  considered  a  new  language.  It 
is  true,  that  in  this  case,  the  language  has  not  gone  out  of  its  own 
family  for  the  types  of  its  variations  ;  for  these  peculiarities  are  all  to 
be  found  in  other  languages  of  the  Indo-European  class,  as  German 
and  Persian  ;  but  it  is  no  less  true,  that  the  change  is  very  great,  and 
allies  the  new  language  to  another  subdivision,  which  forms  one  ex- 
treme, while  the  Latin  is  almost  the  other,  of  the  family. 

The  ancient  Pehlwi  or  Pahlavi,  has  been  supposed  by  some  lin- 
guists to  present  a  similar  example  :  for  Sir  W.  Jones  observed  that 
the  words  are  Semitic,  but  the  grammar  Indo-European  ;*  and 
hence  Balbi  has  placed  it  in  his  Tableau  of  the  Semitic  languages. 
The  fact  is  partly  admitted,  but  the  consequences  denied  by  Dr. 
Dorn,  who  supposes  the  Semitic  words  to  have  crept  into  the  lan- 
guage, by  intercourse  with  the  surrounding  Aramean  nations.f 
Another  curious  example  of  a  similar  phenomenon  may  be  taken 
from  the  Kawi,  a  language  of  the  Indian  Archipelago;  of  which  Mr. 
Crawfurd  thus  writes :  "  Were  I  to  offer  an  opinion  respecting  the 
history  of  the  Kawi,  I  should  say  that  it  is  Sanskrit  deprived  of  its 
inflexions,  and  having  in  their  room  the  prepositions  and  auxiliary 
verbs  of  the  vernacular  dialects  of  Java.  We  may  readily  suppose 
the  native  Brahmans  of  that  island,  separated  from  the  country  of 
their  ancestors,  through  carelessness  or  ignorance,  endeavoringtoget 
rid  of  the  difficult  and  complex  inflexion  of  the  Sanskrit,  for  the 
same  reasons  that  the  barbarians  altered  the  Greek  and  Latin  lan- 
guages to  the  formation  of  the  modern  Romaic  or  Italian."  \ 

Perhaps,  too,  another  instance  may  be  found  in  the  Tartar  lan- 
guages,— in  which  a  profound  scholar  finds  traces  of  similar  de- 
parture from  the  original  type  of  their  grammatical  construction. 
"  Depuis  I'extremite   de  1' Asie,"   says  Abel-Remusat,   "  on   ignore 


#  « 


'  Asiatic  Researches,"  vol.  ii.  ed.  Calcutta,  p.  52. 

■j-  "Ueber  die  Verwandschaft,"  etc.  p.  44. 

J  "On  the  Existence  of  the  Hindu  Religion  in  the  Island  of  Bali." 
— Asiat.  Res.  vol.  xiii,  Calcutta,  18'i0,  p.  101.  In  another  work  Mr. 
Crawfiu'd  expresses  his  opinion  in  a  rather  modified  form:  "The 
opinion  I  am  inclined  to  form  of  this  singular  language  is,  that  it  is  no 
foreign  tongue  introduced  into  the  island,  but  the  written  language  of 
the  priesthood." — History  of  the  Indian  Archipelago,  Edinb.  1820,  vol. 
iLp.  18. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  57 

entierement  I'art  de  conjuguer  les  verbes  :  on  du  moinsles  participes 
et  les  gerondifs  jouent  le  principal  role  dans  les  idionies  Tongous  et 
Mongols  :  ou  la  distinction  de  personnes  est  inconnue.  Les  Turcs 
orientaux  en  offrent  les  premiers  quelques  traces ;  mais  le  peu 
d'nsage  cpi'ils  en  font  senible  attester  la  pre-existence  d'lin  systeme 
plus  simple.  Enfin  ceux  des  Turcs  t[ui  touchaient  autrefois  la  race 
Gothique  dans  les  contrees  qui  separent  I'lrticli  et  le  Jiilk,  qui  I'ont 
repoussee  ensuite,  et  bientot  poursuivie  jusqu'en  Europe,  ont  de  plus 
que  les  Turcs  quelque  chose  qui  leur  est  commune  avec  les  nations 
Gothiques  ;  le  conjugaison  par  le  moyen  des  verbes  auxiliaries  ;  et 
malgre  cette  addition  qui  semble  etrangere  a  leur  langue,  celle-ci 
conserve  quelque  chose  du  mecanisme  gene  des  idiomes  sans  conju- 
gaison."* 

Finally,  another  example  may  be  drawn  from  the  Amharic;  and 
I  will  state  it  in  the  words  of  an  able  writer,  in  a  new  periodical,  de- 
serving of  every  encouragement : — "  So  much  has  been  stated 
merely  to  show  that  the  question  needs  to  be  considered  thoroughly, 
whether  languages  may  not  borrow  each  others'  pronouns  and  in- 
flexions, while  the  whole  material  remains  incongruous  .  .  .  Indeed, 
the  Amharic  language,  which  at  first  was  supposed  to  be  a  dialect  of 
the  Gheez  (Abyssinian,)  and  then  to  be  Semitic,  is  now  alleged  by 
the  most  recent  inquirers  to  be  of  African  pedigree,  and  only  to  have 
imitated  Semitic  inflexions."! 

These  are  instances  of  languages  clearly  going  even  out  of  their 
own  families  to  find  grammatical  forms  and  structure.  Languages  at 
the  greatest  distance  display  sometimes  the  most  extraordinary  coinci- 
dence of  grammar,  yet  are  not  therefore  supposed  to  stand  in  any 
affinity.  For  instance,  the  Biscayan  presents  many  curious  analo- 
gies with  several  American  languages, — such  as  the  want  of  precisely 
the  same  letters,  the  tendency  to  combine  the  same  consonants,  and 
a  similar  complication  of  the  conjugational  system,  formed  by  the  in- 
sertion of  syllables  expressing  different  modifications  of  the  simple 
verb  ;  and,  in  the  latter  point,  it  resembles  also  the  dialects  of  South- 
west Africa.^  Yet  Humboldt,  at  the  very  moment  he  denies  that 
similar  words  are  sufficient  to  establish  a  common  origin  for  different 


*  "  Recherches   sur   les   Langues   Tartares,"   Par.  18:20,   torn.   i.  p. 
30G. 

I  "  On  Comparative   Philology,"  in  the  West   of  England  Journal, 
No.  3,  July,  183.5,  p.  94. 

\  See  ''  Balbi's  Tableau  des  langues  de  rAfriqiie." 
8 


58  LECTURK    THE    SECOND. 

languages,  and  mentions  tlie  ])oints  of  resemblance  I  have  just  stated, 
is  far  from  concluding  that  any  afiinity  is  to  be  admitted  between 
these  different  idioms;  but,  on  tlie  contrary,  says : — "grammatical 
peculiarities  of  this  sort  have  always  appeared  to  me  demonstrations 
rather  of  degrees  in  civilization,  tlian  of  affinity  between  languages."* 

But,  to  come  to  some  conclusion  upon  this  matter;  it  appears  to 
me,  that  while  on  the  one  hand  the  con)parers  of  words  have  carried 
their  conclusions  a  great  deal  too  far,  the  learned  Von  Schlegel  has 
also  been  borne  away  by  his  indignation  against  their  excesses,  when 
he  tells  us,  that  the  common  use  of  «  jmvativiim ,  proves  more  for  the 
affinity  of  Greek  and  Sanskrit,  than  some  hundreds  of  words.t 
Humboldt,  no  less  a  supporter  of  the  superior  deference  due  to 
grammatical  resemblance,  in  a  brief  but  able  exposition  of  his  views 
upon  our  study,  allows  proper  weight  to  verbal  affinities.^ 

I  should  therefore  propose  a  rule  for  examining  verbal  affinities, 
and  concluding  therefrom,  relationship  between  languages,  which 
may  prevent  the  arbitrary  methods  followed  by  the  lexical,  and  come 
nearer  the  severer  wishes  of  the  other  school.  This  is,  not  to  take 
words  belonging  to  one  or  two  languages  in  different  families,  and, 
from  their  resemblance,  which  may  be  accidental  or  communicated, 
draw  inferences  referable  to  the  entire  families  to  which  they  res- 
pectively belong ;  but  to  compare  together  words  of  simple  import 
and  primary  necessity,  which  run  through  the  entire  families,  and 
consequently  are,  if  I  may  so  express  myself,  aboriginal  therein. 
For  instance,  the  numeral  six  is  in  Sanskrit   ^^  shush,  in  Persian 

(^J^*^  shcsh,  in  Latin  sex,  in  German  sechs.  This  is  consequently  a 
word  strictly  belonging  to  the  entire  family  ;  yet  it  belongs  as  much 
to  the  entire  Semitic  family  ;  for  in  Hebrew,  its  purest  type,  we  have 
no  less  sD'i:  shesh,  and  in  the  other  dialects  this  is  modified  according 
to  the  laws  that  always  regulate  the  change  of  letters.     Again,  seven 

is  in  Sanskrit  ^M*1  sa/j^aw,  in  old  German  si6?m  ;  comparing  these 
with  the  Semitic  languages,  we  have  5>5iiJ  shevang,  in  Hebrew,  and 


*  "Prlifung  der  Untersuchung  iiber  die  Urbewohner  Hispanien;--," 
p.  175,  of.  p.  109. 

f  Ubi  sup. 

t  "An  Essay  on  the  best  means  of  ascertaining  the  affinities  of 
Oriental  Languages,"  by  Baron  W.  Humboldt.  In  the  "  Transaction;* 
of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,"  vol.  ii.  1830,  pp.  214,  21.5. 


v^'f: 


-       STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  59 

«^Jt.J^vi  sheba't  in  Arabic.  O/ic  likewise  is  in  Sanskrit  CToK  aiha 
in  Persian  l^j  i/ak ;  in  Hebrew  inx  echad,  and  so  in  the  other 
dialects.  The  word  xi'yug,  if  found  only  in  Greek,  might  be  sup- 
posed a  derivative  from  the  Hebrew  or  Phenician  inp  kertn ;  but 
this  opinion  seems  excluded  by  finding  it  pervade  members  of  the 
family  which  could  not  have  so  borrowed  it ;  as  the  Latin  cornu,  and 
the  German  horn.  Nor  can  even  the  Latin  be  derived  from  the 
Greek,  for  the  insertion  of  the  N,  which  brings  it  nearer  to  the 
Semitic,  can  hardly  be  accidental  ;  particularly  as  it  is  found  in  the 
German,  which  cannot  be  suspected  of  communication  either  with 
Hebrew  or  Greek.  Yet  the  word  thus  found  in  so  many  members  of 
this  family,  is  as  universal  in  the  Semitic,  where  the  Syriac  is  ij-jo 
karno,  and  the  Arabic  (o/^'  ^"^''t'"-  I'l  the  same  manner  there  seems 
no  reason  for  doubting  the  pure  San.skrit  origin  of  the  word  ama^ 
mother ;  and  yet  it  is  essentially  Semitic ;  CN  em  in  Hebrew,  and 

_,)  omnia  in  Arabic,  which  have  the  same  meaning  ;  as  well  as  ama 

in  Biscayan,  now  used  in  Spanish  for  a  nurse.  These  examples  are 
sufficient  to  illustrate  my  rule.  They  present  cases  wherein  words 
pervade  all  or  most  of  the  members  of  two  families,  so  that  we  may 
consider  them  primary  or  es.sential  to  both.  And  only  in  such  cases 
as  these  would  T  easily  admit  a  comparison  of  words,  as  sufficient  to 
demonstrate  affinity  between  languages.  When,  therefore,  a  lexicon,  ' 
such  as  Park  hurst's,  derives  an  English  word  from  a  Hebrew  root,  I 
at  once  reject  it  as  ungrounded  :  when  a  Greek  one  is  derived  from 
it,  I  admit  it  as  possible,  because  it  may  have  been  communicated  by 
intercourse  with  the  Phenicians,  but  it  proves  nothing  as  to  deriva- 
tion. If,  as  in  the  foregoing  examples,  two  or  more  of  these  langua- 
ges have  the  same  primary  word,  and  this  again  recurs  in  several  of 
the  Semitic  languages,  I  admit  it  as  of  weight  towards  framing  the 
mysterious  connexion  of  all  languages  at  some  primeval  period. 

This  leads  us  to  another  important  inquiry, — what  number  of 
words  found  to  resemble  one  another  in  different  languages,  will 
warrant  our  concluding  these  to  be  of  common  origin.  This  point 
has  been  made,  by  the  late  Dr.  Young,  the  subject  of  a  curious 
mathematical  calculation,  which  has  not,  to  my  knowledge,  found  its 
way  into  any  ethnographic  work  ;  probably  from  its  occurring  in  an 
essay  upon  subjects  in   no  way  connected   with  this   study.     After 


60  I-ECTURE    THE    SECOND. 

giving  his  various  formulas,  he  thus  concludes:  "  It  appears,  there- 
fore, that  nothing  whatever  could  be  inferred  with  respect  to  the 
relation  of  two  languages,  from  the  coincidence  of  the  sense  of  any 
single  word  in  both  of  them  ;  and  that  the  odds  would  be  three  to 
one  against  the  agreement  of  two  words  ;  but  if  three  words  appear  to 
be  identical,  it  would  be  then  more  than  ten  to  one  that  they  must  be 
derived  in  both  cases  from  some  parent  language,  or  introduced  in 
some  other  manner;  six  words  would  give  more  than  1700  chances 
to  one,  and  eight,  near  100,000  ;  so  that,  in  these  cases,  the  evidence 
would  be  little  short  of  absolute  certainty.  In  the  Biscayan,  for  ex- 
ample, or  the  ancient  language  of  Spain,  we  find  in  the  vocabulary 
accompanying  the  elegant  Essay  of  Baron  W.  von  Humboldt,  the 
words  heria,  new ;  ora,  a  dog ;  gachi,  little  ;  oguia,  bread  ;  otzoa,  a 
w^olf,  whence  the  Spanish  onza;  and  zazpi,  (or  as  Lacroze  writes  it, 
shashpi)  seven.  Now,  in  the  ancient  Egyptian,  new  is  beri ;  a  dog, 
whor  ;  YiWXe,  kudchi ;  bread,  oz'A;,-  a  wolf,  OMWs/t;  and  seven,  sAas/j/"; 
and  if  we  consider  these  words  as  sufficiently  identical  to  admit  of 
our  calculating  upon  them,  the  chances  will  be  more  than  a  thousand 
to  one,  that  at  some  very  remote  period,  an  Egyptian  colony  estab- 
lished itself  in  Spain  :  for  none  of  the  languages  of  the  neighboring 
nations  retain  any  traces  of  having  been  the  medium  through  which 
these  words  have  been  conveyed."* 

This  conclusion  is  undoubtedly  too  definite  and  bold ;  for  these  re- 
semblances, if  real,  may  be  sufficiently  explained  by  the  supposition 
that  both  languages  had  the  same  original  point  of  departure,  and 
have  both  preserved  in  lhem.selves  some  fragments  of  a  common  pri- 
mary language.  Still,  to  those  who  pursue  this  system  of  compari- 
son, the  general  results  of  this  mathematical  calculation  must  be  ex- 
ceedingly interesting  ;  inasmuch  as  it  seems  to  prove,  that  a  very  lim- 
ited number  of  words,  if  really  alike  and  of  such  a  character  as  could 
not  have  been  communicated  by  later  intercourse,  are  sufficient  to 
establish  an  affinity  between  two  languages. 

Coming,  therefore,  at  last,  to  the  consetjuences  of  this'  long  dis- 
quisition, which  was  necessary  for  understanding  the  respective  value 
of  the  results  I  am  going  to  lay  before  you  ;  I  need  hardly  inform  you 
that  the  followers  of  the  lexical  system,  or  of  verbal  comparison,  more 
readily  find  analogies  between  languages  at  a  great  di.^tance  one 
from  the  other,  and  possessing  no  historical   connexion.     Thus  the 

*  Ileiiiaiks  on  the  Reduction  of  Experiments  on    ilie    reiichiluin. — 
Plillosopliical  Trans,  vol.  cix.  for  1819,  p.  70, 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  61 

Biscayan,  which  we  have  seen  by  Dr.  Young  compared  with  the 
Egyptian,  has  been  in  like  manner  confronted  by  Klaproth  with  the 
Semitic  languages,  and  a  number  of  words,  really  or  apparently  simi- 
lar, brought  together  from  the  two.*  In  like  manner  he  addressed 
a  letter  to  the  late  M.  Champollion,  in  which  he  pointed  out  curious 
verbal  coincidences  between  the  Coptic  and  very  distant  languages, 
particularly  such  as  have  their  seat  between  the  Oby  and  the  Wolga.t 
But  of  his  assiduous  labor  in  this  department,  I  shall  have  to  speak 
again. 

The  two  families  which  afford  the  greatest  facilities  for  examining 
the  connexion  between  languages  of  totally  different  characters,  are 
doubtless  those  you  have  so  often  heard  mentioned  —  the  Indo-Euro- 
pean and  Semitic  :  for  we  are  better  acquainted  with  their  various 
members  than  with  those  of  any  other  family.  Hence  it  is  that  most 
attempts  have  been  made  to  bring  these  into  contact  :  but  too  often, 
from  neglecting  the  rule  I  have  proposed,  of  ascertaing  the  original- 
ity of  the  words,  so  compared,  in  both  the  families,  by  seeing  if  they 
pervade  all  or  many  of  their  branches,  the  result  is  not  always  satis- 
factory. For  instance,  Dr.  Prichard,  in  a  comparative  list  which  he 
has  given, J  does  not  appear  to  me  sufficiently  to  have  attended  either 
to  the  primary  character  of  the  words,  or  to  their  being  common  to 
the  entire  family.  Thus,  he  compares  the  Hebrew  word  ]"'■'  —  yain 
with  the  Latin  vinum,  and  we  might  add  the  Greek  o'lfov  ;  and  the 
comparison  is  probably  correct.  But,  as  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  the  cultivation  of  the  grape,  and  the  manufacture  of  wine,  pro- 
ceeded from  east  to  west,  and  belonged  in  earliest  time  to  Semitic 
nations,  so  may  we  likewise  suppose  that  the  name  accompanied  it ; 
and  thus  it  is  a  borrowed  word.  Again,  he  compares  the  Latin  lin- 
gua —  tongue,  with  the  Hebrew  ^'ib  —  hang,  to  swallow.  Not  to 
say  that  the  connexion  of  these  two  ideas  is  not  a  probable  one  in 
etymology,  the  word  lingua  is  peculiar  to  Latin  in  the  Indo-Euro- 
pean family.  But  it  becomes  a  family-word,  if  we  observe  what 
Marius  Victorinus  says — "  that  the  ancients  said  dingua  for  lingua."^ 


*  "M6inoires  r61atifs  a  I'Asie,"  Paris,  1824,  toin.  i.  p.  214. 

t  Republislied,  lb.  p.  205. 

\  At  tlie  end  of  hi.s  "  Eastern  Origin  of  tlie  Celtic  Nations,"  p.  192. 

§  "  Novensiles  sive  per  /,  sive  per  d,  scribenduin  ;  cominunionem 
eniin  liabueruiit  literfe  bse  apud  antiques,  ut  dinguam  et  linguam,  et 
dacrimis  et  laci-imis."  Marii  Victorini  gramraatici  et  rhetoris  de  ortho- 
graphia.  —  Ap.  Pet.  Saiictand.  Lugd.  1584,  p.  32.     Comp.  p.  14. 


62  LECTURE    THE    SECOND. 

The  word,  thus  restored  to  its  primitive  form,  enters  into  affinity  with 
the  German  zunge,  and  loses  all  resemblance  to  the  Semitic  verb. 

I  have  already  given  a  few  instances  of  what  I  consider  more 
satisfactory  verbal  comparisons  between  the  two  families,  when  I  laid 
down  the  rule  for  such  inquiries  ;  but  I  would  further  suggest,  that 
there  arc  points  in  the  grammatical  character  of  the  two  families, 
which  will  admit  of  a  minuter  comparison  than  has  been  hitherto 
attempted.  I  should  find  it  difficult  to  explain  my  sentiments  upon 
this  head,  without  going  into  a  minute  and  complicated  comparative 
analysis,  hardly  intelligible  without  some  acquaintance  with  the  lan- 
guages, and  not  interesting  to  a  great  portion  of  my  audience.*  I 
will  therefore  only  say,  that  I  am  convinced  a  closer  grammatical 
affinity  will  be  found  between  the  families  than  we  are  at  first  in- 
clined to  suspect  :  and  it  is  with  pleasure  that  I  mention  a  work 
which  seems  likely  to  open  a  field  to  new  researches,  and  point  out 
new  elements  of  affinity  between  these  and  other  families.  I  allude 
to  Dr.  Lepsius's  "  Palaeography,  as  a  means  of  inquiry  into  languages, 
exemplified  in  the  Sanskrit,"  published  last  year,  and  full  of  the  most 
curious  and  original  researches.  By  means  of  this  new  element,  he 
has  established  several  very  ingenious  and  striking  resemblances 
between  Sanskrit  and  Hebrew,  so  as  to  leave  no  doubt,  according  to 
his  own  .expression,  of  the  existence  of  a  common,  though  unde- 
veloped germ,  in  both.t 

Encouraged  by  his  success  in  this  instance,  he  was  advised  to 
apply  himself  to  the  study  of  Coptic,  with  a  view  to  discover,  if  possi- 
ble, its  relations  with  other  languages  ;  seeing  that  hitherto  it  has 
been  considered  an  isolated  and  independent  tongue.  By  the  gene- 
rosity which  characterizes  the  German  governments,  whenever  the 
interests  of  literature  are  concerned,  he  has  been  enabled  to  pursue 
his  researches  ;  and  they  have  been  crowned  with  complete  success. 
Through  the  kindness  of  the  distinguished  and  learned  individual, 
at  whose  suggestion  he  undertook  them,  I  am  enabled  to  lay  before 


*  I  have  added  a  note  upon  tliis  subject  nt  the  end  of  the  volume. 

f  "  Paliiograpliie  als  Mittel  fiir  die  SiiniciirorscliuDg,  zunaclist  am 
Sanskrit  nachjii;ewiesfm,"  Bnvlin,  1834,  p.  23.  A  remarkaliie  coinci- 
dence between  the  two,  is  tlie  way  in  wliicli  n  Rtsch  is  evidently  con- 
sidered as  a  vowel,  in  the  rules  regarding  the  Hebrew  points,  precisely 
as  in  Sanskrit  the  letter  R.  Not  having  any  longer  Lepsius's  work  at 
hand,  I  do  not  remember  whether  he  dwells  upon  lliis  resemblance. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  63 

you  their  interesting  results,  down  to  a  very  late  period,  The  first 
letter,  whereof  I  have  translated  the  following  extracts  is  dated  Paris, 
Jan.  20,  of  the  present  year  (1835),  and  is  addressed  to  the  Chev. 
Bunsen. 

"  My  Egyptian  and  Coptic  studies  are  going  on  well.  They 
have  brought  me  to  results,  by  which  I  have  been  myself  most  agree- 
ably surprised  ;  and  whose  more  universal  interest  for  the  history  of 
languages  becomes  every  day  more  striking.  What  alarmed  me  a 
little  at  first,  was  the  complete  linguistic  solitude  in  which  the  Cop- 
tic language  appeared  to  be  placed,  and  the  little  prospect  I  had  of 
ever  being  able  to  use  it  as  a  help  in  my  researches  into  Egyptian 
antiquities.  At  the  same  time  I  must  confess,  that  the  historical 
demonstrations  of  Q,uatreinere,  on  the  origin  of  the  Egyptian  lan- 
guage, (which,  indeed,  are  wholly  independent  of  the  language  itself,) 
had  left  in  my  mind  many  doubts  unsolved,  as  to  the  identity  of  the 
Egyptian  and  Coptic  tongues.  I  have  now  discovered,  in  the  essence 
of  the  language  itself,  not  only  that  there  is  no  appearance  whatever 
of  any  grammatical  change,  and  that  it  possesses,  perhaps  in  a  higher 
degree,  that  principle  of  stability  so  peculiar  to  the  Semitic  dialects, 
but  also  that  it  has  preserved  in  its  formation  traces  of  a  higher  anti- 
quity than  any  Indo-Germanic  or  Semitic  language  wherewith  I  am 
acquainted,  which  traces  will  therefore  be  most  unexpectedly  impor- 
tant even  to  these  two  families.  At  the  same  time  the  Coptic  can- 
not be  termed  either  Semitic  or  Indo-Germanic  ;  it  has  its  own  pecu- 
liar formation,  though,  at  the  same  time,  its  fundamental  relationship 
with  these  two  families  is  not  to  be  mistaken.  Its  degree  of  cultiva- 
tion is  about  the  same  as  that  of  the  Semitic  languages,  and  therefore 
the  relationship  is  here  more  manifest.  The  progress  pointed  out  by 
you  from  syllabic  to  alphabetic  language,  is  also  a  most  important 
element  for  the  Coptic. 

"  The  roots  of  the  pronouns  are  a  part  of  speech  which  seems  to 
have  worked  the  earliest  in  the  formation  of  language,  and  to  have 
influenced  it  in  a  very  considerable  degree.  On  these  roots,  and 
their  comparisons  with  the  Semitic  and  Indo-Germanic  pronominal 
formations,  I  lay  great  stress.  Let  us,  for  example,  compare  for  a 
moment  the  affixes  of  the  personal  pronoun  in  Coptic  and  Hebrew,  in 
order  to  see  the  relationship  between  the  formation  of  both. 


64 


LECTURE    THE     SECOND, 


my  sea, 

our  sea 

thy  sea,  rn. 

thy  sea,  f. 

Heb. 

jaiDmi-rnl 

jam-nu 

jaiii-ka 

jam-k  (i) 

Copt. 

jom-i 

jom-n 

join-k 

joni-ti 

your  sea 

his  sea 

her  sea 

their  sea 

Hee. 

jani-kcm  (ken) 

jairi-o-hii 

jam-ha  (t) 

jam-iii-u 

Copt. 

join-ten 

join-f 

jom-s 

join-u.* 

"  I  am  at  present  occupied  with  the  task  of  laying  before  the 
public  a  specimen  of  a  Coptic  grammar,  so  to  account  for  the  new 
direction  given  to  my  studies.  I  will,  however,  premise  a  compara- 
tive part,  which  will  be  founded  principally  upon  the  pronominal 
roots,  and  will  secure  to  the  Coptic  language  the  ground  on  which  it 
has  arisen,  and  point  out  its  place  among  the  other  better-known  lan- 
guages. The  new  and  particular  part  of  its  formation,  that  part 
which  gives  to  every  language  its  proper  individuality,  will  thus  be 
linked  in  a  more  convenient  manner,  both  for  the  writer  and  for  the 
reader,  with  the  older  part,  whereby  it  is  connected  with  other  dia- 
lects. Some  important  parts  of  my  Coptic  grammar  are  in  substance 
finished  already,  and  it  is  not,  after  all,  so  difficult  a  task  to  shed  a 
little  light  upon  that,  which  before  was  in  such  utter  darkness. 

"  I  have  been  induced  to  pay  particular  attention  to  the  names 
of  the  numerals,  which  I  found  bore  a  remarkable  likeness  to  the 
figures  which  signify  their  respective  numbers.  What  has  struck  me 
still  more,  is  that  the  Indo-Germanic  and  Semitic  numerals  agree 
exactly,  even  in  details,  with  the  Egyptian  system  ;  that  further,  the 
Sanskrit  ciphers  are  essentially  Egyptian  ;  and  that  all  this  is  found 
much  more  clearly,  and  in  a  greater  degree  of  nearness  to  its  natural 
origin  in  the  Egyptian.  The  numeral  figures  decidedly  appear  to 
me  to  have  gone  from  Egypt  to  India,   thence  they  were  transported 


*  I  will  take  the  iil>erty  of  adding  a  few  remarks.  1.  The  resem- 
blance in  the  first  |)erson  singular  is  complete,  because  the  reduplica- 
tion of  the  C  —  m,  in  the  example  chosen,  is  accidental,  in  consequence 
of  its  being  supposed  to  be  derived  from  the  obsolete  word  'CT21  — 
yamam  ;  so  that  the  suffix  is  simply  i,  as  in  Coptic.  2.  The  difference 
in  the  second  person  feminine  singular  is  also  more  apparent  than  real  ; 
inasmuch  as  the  Hebrew  in  the  second  persons  departs  from  the  suffix 
suggested  by  analogy,  ta,  ti  or  /,  tern,  ten,  and  assumes  a  k  instead  of 
the  t.  The  Coptic  throws  light  upon  this  circumstance,  by  preserving 
here  the  regular  suffixes,  while  in  llie  masculine  it  accompanies  the 
Hebrew  in  its  change.  3.  This  remark,  it  is  evident,  comprises  the 
second  person  plural. 


STUDY  OF  LANGUAGES. 


65 


by  the  Arabs,  who  even  now  call  them  Indian,  even  as  we  now  term 
them  Arabic,  because  we  received  them  from  the  Arabs.  The  re- 
markable agreement  of  the  numerals  in  the  Coptic,  Semitic,  and 
Indo-Germaliic,  and  the  demonstrable  derivation  of  them,  principally  | 
in  Egyptian,  from  the  three  pronominal  roots,  and,  from  their  cipher- 
like  connexion  with  one  another,  will  lead  me  to  bestow  a  more  ex- 
tensive discussion  upon  this  important  subject. 

"  Finally,  one  of  the  principal  points  which  have  occupied  me, 
is  the  undeniable  connection  between  the  Semitic  alphabet  and  the 
Demotic,  and,  consequently,  the  hieroglyphic  alphabets  of  the  Egyp-j 
tians.  What  obstructs  in  great  measure  all  research  into  the  pro-  ; 
nunciation  of  the  Coptic,  is  the  Greek  character,  which  was  adopted 
in  the  second  or  third  century  ;  when  many  of  the  nicer  distinctions, 
which  no  doubt  existed  in  the  original  domestic  paleography,  were 
necessarily  abandoned.  At  the  same  time,  the  pronunciation  of  the 
Coptic  tongue,  which  at  first,  owing  to  its  extraordinary  accumula- 
tion of  vowels  and  other  peculiarities  to  me  quite  chaotic,  is  become 
quite  clear  to  me  ;  especially  since  I  have  made  more  minute  re- 
searches into  the  accents,  which  in  the  grammars  are  considered  as 
quite  unessential,  and  are  generally,  in  published  works,  given  very 
incorrectly.  But  I  have  now  by  me  some  manuscripts  from  the 
library,  which  have  furnished  me  with  a  completely  new  light  upon 
the  subject." 

The  second  extract  which  I  will   lay  before  you,  is  from  a  letter 
dated  the  14th  of  last  month,  (February.) 

"  ....  I  have  thought  it  would  perhaps  be  better  if  I  drew  up 
and  sent  to  the  Academy  my  essay  on  the  names  and  signs  of  the 
numerals,  to  which,  as  well  as  to  their  interesting  relations,  I  believe 
I  have  unquestionably  discovered  the  key  in  the  Egyptian  ciphers, 
and  in  the  Coptic  names  of  the  numerals.  It  will  be  ready,  at  latest, 
in  a  week,  and  the  results  appear  to  me  perfectly  clear  and  satisfac- 
tory, inasmuch  as  they  solve  the  riddle  so  often,  but  so  remotely, 
attempted,  respecting  the  meaning  of  these  ancient  numeral  roots, 
and  that  not  only  as  regards  the  Coptic,  but  also  for  the  Semitic  and 
Indo-Germanic  languages  ;  and  they  will  place  this  whole  cycle  of 
dialects  in  a  very  remarkable  harmony  with  one  another,  which,  m 
my  mind,  may  be  of  great  importance  for  all  the  higher  departments 
of  comparative  linguistics." 

The  conclusions  to  be  drawn   from  these  interesting  documents 
must  be  obvious  to  every  mind.     We  have  it  ascertained,  that  the 
9 


66  LECTURE    THE    SECOND. 

ancient  Egyptian,  now  fully  identified  with  the  Coptic,  is  no  longer 
to  be  considered  an  insulated  language,  void  of  connexion  with  those 
around  it,  but  presents  very  extraordinary  points  of  contact  with  the 
two  great  families  so  often  mentioned;  not,  indeed,  sufficiently  dis- 
tinct to  make  it  enter  into  either  class,  but  yet  sufficiently  definite 
and  rooted  in  the  essential  constitution  of  the  language,  to  prevent 
their  being  considered  accidental  or  a  later  engrafting  thereupon. 
The  effects  of  this  intermediate  character,  according  to  Lepsius's 
expression,  is  to  group  together  in  a  very  remarkable  harmony  this 
cycle  of  languages;  so  that,  instead  of  any  longer  considering  the 
Indo-European  and  Semitic  as  completely  insulated  families,  or 
being  compelled  to  find  a  few  verbal  coincidences  between  them,  we 
may  now  consider  them  as  linked  together,  both  by  points  of  actual 
contact,  and  by  the  interposition  of  the  Coptic,  in  a  mysterious  affinity, 
grounded  on  the  essential  structure  and  most  necessary  forms  of  the 
three. 

Now  let  us  consider  the  further  inquiries  to  which  these  researches 
must  lead  a  thinking  mind  ;  how,  for  example,  can  such  interme- 
diate languages  have  arisen  ?  Is  it  from  both  these  great  groups 
having  been  originally  one,  so  that,  as  they  separated,  like  masses 
cleft  asunder  by  some  natural  convulsion,  smaller  fragments  splin- 
tered away  between  and  from  both,  partaking  of  the  peculiar  grain 
and  qualities  of  both,  so  as  to  mark  their  points  of  former  union  ? 
Or  are  the  whole  to  be  considered  as  equally  derivatives  of  a  common 
stock,  modified  into  such  varieties  by  circumstances  now  unknown, 
and  dependent  upon  laws  now  probably  abolished  ?  Take  any  hy- 
pothesis, or  rather,  anticipate  any  result  you  please,  likely  to  result 
from  these  discoveries  and  their  further  extension,  and  you  come 
necessarily  to  a  union  and  community  of  the  great  groups  or  families, 
partly  by  themselves,  partly,  like  the  polygonar  structures  of  the 
ancients,  through  the  medium  of  smaller  connecting  fragments,  which 
nature  or  Providence  has  allowed  to  remain  between  them. 

And  this  is  fiirther  worthy  of  notice,  that  the  severer  school,  the 
one  which  seemed  to  require  a  demonstration  of  affinity  too  rigid  to 
be  ever  practical  out  of  the  limits  of  one  family,  has,  in  fact,  discov- 
ered that  affmity  between  the  families  themselves,  and  left  no  cavil 
tenable  against  this  important  fact.  For,  this  must  close  all  that  can 
be  expected  from  this  study,  as  far  as  pjinciples  are  concerned  ;  all 
that  now  remains,  is  to  desire  their  further  application,  and  to  have 
the  same  processes  extended  to  other  groups,  apparently  separated 
from  the  rest. 


STUDY  OF  LANGUAGES.  67 

And   here  let  us  look  back  for  a  moment  at  tlie  connexion  be- 
tween our  study  and  the  sacred  records.     From  the  simple  historical 
outline  which  I   have  laid   before  you,  it  appears  that  its  first  rise 
seemed  fitter  to  inspire  alarm  than  confidence  ;  insomuch  as  it  broke 
asunder  the  great  bond  anciently  supposed  to  hold  them  all  together; 
then  for  a  time  it  went  on,  still   further  severing  and  dismembering  ; 
consequently,  to  all  appearance,  ever  widening  the  breach  between 
itself  and  sacred  history.     In  its  further  progress,  it  began  to  discover 
new  affinities  where  least  expected  ;  till,  by  degrees,  many  languages 
began  to  be  grouped   and  classified  in  large  families,  acknowledged 
to  have  a  common  origin.     Then,  new  inquiries  gradually  diminished 
the  number  of  independent  languages,  and  extended,  in  consequence, 
the  dominion  of  the  larger  masses.       At  length,   when  this    field 
seemed  almost  exhausted,  a  new  class  of  researches  has  succeeded, 
so  far  as  it  has  been  tried,  in  proving  the  extraordinary  affinities  be- 
tween these   families,  —  afiinities  existing  in  the  very  character  and 
essence  of  each  language,  so  that  none  of  them  could  iiave  ever  ex- 
isted,   without   those   elements   wherein   the   resemblances   consist. 
Now,  as  this  excludes  all  idea  of  one  having  borrowed  them  from  the 
other,  as  they  could  not  have   arisen  in  each  by  independent  pro- 
cesses ;  and  as  the  radical  difference  among  the  languages  forbids 
their  being  considered  dialects  or  off-shoots  from  one  another,  we  are 
driven  to  the  conclusion,  that,  on  the  one  hand,  these  languages  must 
have  been  originally  united  in  one,  whence  they  drew  these  common 
elements  essential  to  them  all  ;  and,  on  the  other,  that  the  separation 
between  them,  which  destroyed  other  no  less  important  elements  of 
resemblance,  could  not  have  been  caused  by  any  gradual  departure 
or  individual  development,  —  for  these  we  have  long  since  excluded, 
—  but  by  some  violent,  unusual,  and  active  force,  sufficient  alone  to 
reconcile  these  conflicting   appearances,   and  to  account  at  once  for 
the    resemblances    and    the    differences.       It   would    be   difficult, 
methinks,  to  say  what  further  step  the  most  insatiable  or  unreason- 
able skeptic  could  require,  to  bring  the  results  of  this  science  into 
close  accordance  with  the  scriptural  account. 

But  to  complete  the  history  of  this  study,  I  must  not  omit  the 
writings  and  opinions  of  several  authors  who  have  not  entered  into 
the  line  of  demonstration  I  have  till  now  followed,  although  their 
names  have  been  occasionally  introduced.  I  will  lay  before  you, 
therefore,  their  positive  conclusions  ;  thus  showing  you  how  far  they 
bear  me  out  in  the  consequences  I  have  drawn  from  their  researches. 


68  LEcruni:  thj:  sf.cond. 

I  will  divide   tliem   into   two   classes,  the   lirst  uiiereof  shall   contain 
such  as  agree  in  acknowledging  the  original  unity  of  all  language. 

The  learned  Alexander  von  Humboldt,  to  whom  we  owe  so  much 
valuable  information  regarding  the  languages  and  monuments  of 
America,  thus  expresses  himself  upon  this  interesting  point  :  — 
"  However  insulated  certain  languages  may  at  first  appear,  however 
singular  their  caprices  and  their  idioms,  all  have  an  analogy  among 
them,  and  their  numerous  relations  will  be  more  perceived,  in  pro- 
portion as  the  philosophical  history  of  nations,  and  the  study  of  lan- 
guages, shall  be  brought  to  perfection."* 

Upon  this  important  subject  a  most  decisive  testimony  was  given 
by  the  Academy  of  St.  Petersburgh,  in  the  fifth  volume  of  its  Me- 
moirs.! This  learned  body  was,  probably,  in  this  part  of  its  labors, 
very  much  under  the  influence  of  Count  GoulianotF,  who  was  an 
enthusiast  for  the  unity  of  languages,  as  demonstrated  simply  by  simi- 
larity of  w^ords,  without  sufficient  attention,  often,  to  real  identity, 
much  less  to  the  essential  construction  of  the  languages.  He  him- 
self has  sufficiently  declared  his  views  in  his  Discourse  on  the  funda- 
mental study  of  languages,  from  which  I  will  extract  one  passage  :  — 
"  La  succession  des  faits  anterieurs  a  I'histoire  en  s'effacant  avec  les 
siecles,  semble  nuire  a  I'evidence  du  fait  essentiel,  savoir,  celui  de  la 
fi-aternite  des  peuples.  Or  ce  fait,  le  plus  interessant  pour  I'homme 
qui  pense,  s'etablirait  imjjlicitement  par  le  rapprochment  des  langues 
an^-iennes  et  modernes,  considerees  sous  leur  aspect  originaire.  Et, 
si  jamais  quelque  conception  philosophique  venait  multiplier  encore 
les  berceaux  du  genre  humain,  I'identite  des  langues  serait  toujours 
la,  pour  detruire  le  prestige  ;  et  cette  autorite  ramenerait,  je  pense, 
I'esprit  le  plus  prevenu."t  A  year  later  than  this  publication,  he 
sent  forth  a  prospectus  of  a  work  which  was  to  prove  the  unity  of 
languages. §  f  know  not  vrhether  it  appeared,  for  the  character  of 
his  researches  is  not  such  as  to  have  induced  me  to  inquire  after  it; 
but  I  fear  there  was  too  much  promised  in  that  prospectus,  for  the 
))romises  to  have   been   kept.     The  decision  of  the  Academy  was, 

*  A]).  Kiaptotli,  "  Asia  Polyglotta,"  p.  (j. 

t  See  the  "  Bulletin  Univer.^cl,"  7o  section,  vol.  i,  p.  380. 

\  "  Discours  siir  I'Rtude  Fomlamentale  des  Langues,"  Pam,  1822, 
p.3L 

§  The  title  of  the  work  was  lo  be  :  '"Etude  de  I'Homme  dans  la 
manifestation  de  ses  facult^s." 


STUDY  OF  LANGUAGES.  (39 

however,  quite  unreserved  upon  this  point  ;  for  it  maintains  its  con- 
viction, after  a  long  research,  that  all  languages  are  to  be  considered 
as  dialects  of  one  now  lost. 

And  in  the  same  class  of  writers  must  be  reckoned  the  late  State- 
councillor  Merian,  who  has  adopted  the  same  conclusion,  though  not 
perhaps  positively  stated  in  his  great  work  the  Tripartitum.  This 
consists  of  four  folio  volumes,  published  at  Vienna  between  1820 
and  1823,  and  contains  comparative  tables  principally  of  German 
and  Russian  words,  but  with  an  additional  mass  of  incongruous  ma- 
terials from  all  other  languages.  For  lexical  comparison  the  work 
no  doubt  has  considerable  value  ;  but  it  must  be  owned  that  page 
after  page  has  to  be  turned  over,  before  any  thing  like  a  tolerable  re- 
semblance can  be  discovered,  in  languages  of  different  families.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  the  conclusion  of  his  first  Continuation,  or  second  vol- 
ume, sufficiently  declares  his  sentiments  upon  the  point  now  under 
consideration  ;  for  he  thus  writes  :  "  Those  who  doubt  of  the  unity 
of  language,  after  perusing  Whiter,  may  read  Goulianoff."* 

Of  the  same  school,  but  far  superior  in  merit  to  the  authors  yet 
mentioned,  is  Julius  Klaproth,  whose  name  I  have  already  more  than 
once  introduced.  To  few  aulliors  are  we  more  indebted  for  curious 
information  regarding  the  languages  and  literature  of  most  Asiatic 
nations,  and  the  geography  of  countries,  else  but  little  known.  It 
must  however  be  owned,  that  he  is  a  bold  writer,  whose  assertions 
should  be  received  with  some  degree  of  caution  :  it  would,  indeed, 
have  been  diihcult  to  unite  perfect  accuracy  with  the  varied  charac- 
ter of  his  researches.  His  great  work  on  the  affinity  of  languages, 
the  Asia  Polyglotta,  published  at  Paris  in  1823,  consists  of  a  large 
quarto  of  text,  with  a  folio  of  comparative  tables.  In  it  he  makes  no 
secret  of  his  complete  disbelief  in  the  Mosaic  history  of  the  disper- 
sion ;  it  is,  he  tells  us,  like  many  other  things  in  the  writings  of 
Western  Asia,  a  mere  story  founded  upon  the  significant  name  of 
Babylon. t     He  supposes  mankind  to  have  escaped   from  the  deluge 

*  "Trif)art.  sen  de  Analogia  Linguaruin  Lilieilus,  Contiimatio,  Vien. 
J62"<?,  p.  585.  Whiter's  work  here  aihided  to  is  the  "  Etymoingicum 
Universale." 

f  '"Die  andere  (Spracliverwandschaft)  i^x.  posldilnvianisch,  und  ihre 
Ursachen  .sind  niclit  so  verborgen,  so  dass  wir  nicht  nothig  hahen  den 
Thurni  von  Babel  zu  hiilfe  zu  nehmen,  das,  wie  nianches  in  den 
Schriften  den  Westasiaten,  nur  eine  Erzahluug  zu  seyn  scheint,  die  zu 
einem  Bedeutung  habenden  Namen  erfunden  ist."     S.  40,  corap.  S.  41. 


70  LECTURE    THE    SECOND. 

at  different  points,  by  climbing  the  highest  mountains  ;  and  hence 
considers  the  various  families  of  the  human  race  as  propagated  after- 
wards from  so  many  centres,  —  in  the  Caucasus,  the  Himalaya,  and 
the  Altai  mountains.  Notwithstanding  these  inauspicious  opinions, 
his  resuhs  are  in  strict  accordance  with  sacred  history.  He  flatters 
himself  that  in  his  works,  "  the  universal  affinity  of  languages  is 
placed  in  so  strong  a  light,  that  it  must  be  considered  by  all  as  com- 
pletely demonstrated.  This,"  he  adds,  "  does  not  appear  explicable 
on  any  other  hypothesis,  than  that  of  admitting  fragments  of  a  pri- 
mary language  yet  to  exist,  through  all  the  languages  of  the  old  and 
new  worlds."*  And  I  think  it  must  be  owned  that  in  the  numerous 
comparative  lists  given  after  his  account  of  each  language,  though 
many  examples  may  be  slight  and  fanciful,  abundance  of  resem- 
blances may  be  discovered,  sufficiently  marked  to  justify  the  success- 
ful application  of  Dr.  Young's  calculus,  if  his  theorem  is  to  be  allow- 
ed any  value. 

With  greater  pleasure  still,  I  proceed  to  record  the  sentiments  of 
the  lamented  Frederick  Schlegel,  a  man  to  whom  our  age  owes  more 
than  our  children's  children  can  repay — new  and  purer  feelings  upon 
art  and  its  holiest  applications  ;  the  attempt  at  least,  to  turn  philoso- 
phy's eye  inward  upon  the  soul,  and  to  compound  the  most  sacred  ele- 
ments of  its  spiritual  powers  with  the  ingredients  of  human  knowledge; 
above  all,  the  successful  discovery  of  a  richer  India  than  Vasco  de 
Gama  opened  unto  Europe,  whose  value  is  not  in  its  spices,  and  its 
pearls,  and  its  barbaric  gold,  but  in  tracts  of  science  unexplored,  in 
mines  long  unwrought  of  native  wisdom,  in  treasures  deeply  buried 
of  symbolic  learning,  and  in  monuments  long  hidden  of  primeval  and 
venerable  traditions. 

In  the  work  which  first  turned  the  eyes  of  Europe  to  these  impor- 
tant objects,  (his  little  treatise  published  in  1808  upon  the  language 
and  wisdom  of  the  Indians),  he  clearly  lays  down  his  opinion  touching 
the  original  unity  of  all  language.  He  rejects  with  indignation  the 
idea  that  language  was  the  invention  of  man  in  a  savage  and  untutored 


*  "Die  allgemeine  Spracliverwanschaft,  niit  der  icli  niicli  bei  der 
Ausarbeiiung  dieses  Werkes  weit  mehr  lieschaftigl  habo,  als  f^s  aufan- 
glich  inein  Vorsatz  war,  ist  durch  dasselbe  in  ein  so  iielles  Licht 
getracht  worrlen,  dass  man  sie  als  erwieser  auzuiiohrnen  gezwungen  ist. 
Sic  scheint  niclit  anders  erkiiirbar  als  (lurch  die  Ueberblt^ii)sol  einer 
Urspraclie,  die  sich  in  alien  Mundaiten  der  alteu  und  neuen  Welt  wie- 
der  fioden."  —  Vorrede,  S.  ix. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  71 

State,  brought  to  gradual  perfection  by  the  toil  or  experience  of  suc- 
cessive generations.  He  considers  it,  on  the  contrary,  as  a  whole, 
with  its  roots  and  structure,  its  pronunciation  and  written  character,* 
which  was  not  hieroglyphic,  but  consisted  of  signs  exactly  expressive 
of  the  sounds  that  composed  that  early  speech.  He  speaks  not,  in- 
deed, of  language  as  given  to  man  by  superior  communication  ;  but 
he  considers  the  mind  of  man  so  to  have  been  organized  as  necessa- 
rily to  produce,  on  his  first  appearance,  this  well-ordered  and  beau- 
tiful structure,  and  thereby  supposes  its  oneness  and  indivisibility.t 

Nor  did  he  alter   his  opinion   by  further  study  ;  on  the  contrary, 
in  his  last   beautiful  work,  his  cycnea  vox  et  oratio,  which,   as  has 
been  beautifully  observed,  closed  his  philosophical  speculations  withi; 
an  expression  of  doubt,|  —  for  death   found   him  watching  by  his  I 
night-lamp  over  the  best  interests  of  virtue,  and,  like   the  slayer  of 
Archimedes,   refused   him  time  to  work  out  his  problem  ;  —  in  hisj 
Philosophy  of  Speech  he  considers  language  as  an  individual  gift  to 
man,   and,  consequently,   in  its  origin  only  one.     I  cannot   forbear 
making  one  quotation. 


*  The  idea  of  writing  haviiifr  been  a  primeval  art,  and  an  essential 
part  of  lan^tiiige,  taken  in  its  comijletest  sense,  is  not  l)yany  means  con- 
fined to  Scli!ei;el.  Not  to  mention  the  attempt  of  Court  de  (Jehelin  to 
prove  the  unity  of  all  alpliabets,  {"  Monde  primiiif,"  end  of  vol.  iii.)  or 
the  still  more  learned  and  ingenious  comparisons  given  i>y  Paiavey, 
("Essai  snr  I'Origine  iniifpie  et  hieroglyphiqne  des  chitl^'res  et  des  lettres 
de  tons  les  peuplpp,"  Paris,  18^6)  1  will  only  niention  two  authors  who 
agree  in  this  opinion.  Herder  observes:  "The  alphabets  of  nations 
present  nn  analogy  still  more  striking.  It  is  such,  that  a  [nofonnd  un- 
derstanding of  things  will  lead  to  the  contrlusion  that  there  is  but  one 
aljihahet." —  Noiiveaiix  Memoires  de  TAeademie  Royale,  an.  1781, 
Berlin,  1783,  p.  413.  Baron  W.  Hinnholdt  seems  to  adtnit  the  same 
opinion,  at  the  ronchision  of  his  essay,  "Ueber  das  Entstehen  der  gram- 
nialischeii  Formen,"  Berlin,  18'23. 

f  "Sprarhe  nnd  VVeislieit  der  Indier,"  Ites  Biich.  5tes  Kap.  S.  64, 
conip.  S.  60.  These  sentiments,  expressed  with  the  fervid  eloqnence 
which  distinguishes  all  the  philosophical  spondations  of  their  author, 
have  heen  severely  commented  on  by  F.  Wiillner,  in  his  interesting 
work,  "  Ueiter  Ursprung  nnd  Urbedeutimg  der  sprachiichen  Formen," 
Miinstir,  1831,  p.  27.  This  author  deduces  all  language  from  interjec- 
tional  forms,  [).  4. 

I  "  rhilosophische  Vorlesmigen  inshesondere  iiher  Philosophie  der 
Si)iache  und  des  Wortes,"  JVien.  1830.  The  author  expired  while 
writing  the  tenth  lecture;  the  last  word  of  his  manuscript  was  aber,  but. 


72  \  LECTURE    THE    SECOND. 

"  With  our  present  senses  and  organs,  it  is  as  impossible  for  us 
to  form  the  remotest  idea  of  that  speech,  which  the  first  man  posses- 
sed, before  he  lost  his  original  power,  perfection,  and  worth,  as  it 
would  be  to  reason  of  that  mysterious  discourse  vvhereb)'  immortal 
spirits  send  their  thoughts  across  the  wide  space  of  heaven,  upon 
wings  of  light ;  or  of  those  words,  by  created  beings  unutterable, 
which  in  the  unsearchable  interior  of  the  Deity  are  spoken,  where, 
as  is  in  holy  song  expressed,  depth  calleth  upon  depth,  that  is,  the 
fulness  of  endless  love  upon  eternal  majesty.  When,  from  this 
unattainable  height,  we  descend  again  unto  ourselves,  and  to  the  first 
man,  such  as  really  he  was,  the  simple  unaffected  narrative  of  that 
book  which  contains  our  earliest  records,  that  God  taught  man  to 
speak,  even  if  we  go  no  further  than  this  simple  unaffected  sense, 
will  be  in  accordance  with  our  natural  feelings.  For  how  could  it 
be  otherwise,  or  how  could  any  other  impression  be  made,  when  we 
consider  the  relation  which  God  therein  holds — of  a  parent,  as  it 
were,  teaching  her  child  the  first  rudiments  of  speech.  But 
under  this  simple  sense  there  lieth,  as  does  through  all  that  book  of 
twofold  import,  another,  and  a  far  deeper  signification.  The  name 
of  any  thing  or  living  being,  even  as  it  is  called  in  God,  and  designa- 
ted from  eternity,  holds  in  itself  the  essential  idea  of  its  innermost 
being,  the  key  of  its  existence,  the  deciding  power  of  its  being  or 
not  being ;  and  so  it  is  used  in  sacred  speech,  where  it  is,  moreover, 
in  a  holier  or  higher  sense,  united  to  the  idea  of  the  Word.  Ac- 
cording to  this  deeper  sense  and  understanding,  it  is  in  that  narra- 
tion shown  and  signified,  according  as  I  have  before  briefly  remark- 
ed, that,  together  with  speech,  entrusted,  communicated,  and 
delivered,  immediately  by  God  to  man,  and  through  it,  he  was  in- 
stalled as  the  ruler  and  the  king  of  nature,  yea,  more  rightly,  as  the 
deputed  of  God  over  this  earthly  creation,  unto  which  office  was  his 
original  destination."* 

Such,  then,  is  our  first  conclusion  drawn  from  the  writings  of 
modern  ethnographers,  that  the  language  of  men  was  originally  one  ; 
come  we,  therefore,  to  the  second,  which  will  much  confirm  it.  How 
was  this  one  language  separated  into  so  many,  strangely  different  ? 

I  will  first  give  you  the  authority  of  Herder,  and,  that  he  may  not 


*  P.  70.  Porliaps  this  idea  is  Ijorrowed  from  Herder,  "  Pliilosopliy 
of  History,"  Lond.  ISOO,  p.  89,  though  there  only  the  capacity  of  speech, 
and  not  language  is  mentioned. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  73 

be  suspected  as  a  partial  witness,  I  will  premise  that,  in  tlie  very 
page  I  am  about  to  quote,  he  is  careful  to  inform  us,  that  he  con- 
siders the  History  of  Babel  as  a  "poetical  fragment  in  the  oriental 
style."  First,  then,  he  tells  us,  that  "  as  the  human  race  is  a  pro- 
gressive whole,  the  parts  whereof  are  intimately  connected,  so  must 
language  form,  also,  a  united  whole,  dependent  upon  a  common 
origin.  .  ,  Having  laid  this  down,"  he  continues,  "  there  is  a  great 
probability  that  the  human  race,  and  language  therewith,  go  back  to 
one  common  stock,  to  a  first  man,  and  not  to  several,  disjjersed  in 
different  parts  of  the  world."  This  position  he  then  proceeds  to 
illustrate,  by  an  inquiry  into  the  grammatical  structure  of  languages. 
His  conclusions,  however,  do  not  stop  here  :  he  confidently  asserts, 
that,  from  the  examination  of  languages,  the  separation  among  man- 
kind is  shown  to  have  been  violent ;  not  indeed  that  they  voluntarily 
changed  their  language,  but  that  they  were  rudely  and  suddenly 
(hrusquemmt)  divided  from  one  another.* 

To  demonstrate  the  same  conclusion,  was  the  object  of  a  series 
of  papers  read  in  1824  and  1825  to  the  Royal  Society  of  Literature, 
by  Mr.  Sharon  Turner.  The  learned  author  went  into  a  minute 
analysis  of  the  primary  elements  of  speech  ;  and  concluded  that  the 
numerous  evidences  of  attraction  and  repulsion  between  languages, 
left  no  alternative  in  explaining  them,  save  the  adoption  of  some 
hypothesis  similar  to  the  event  recorded  in  Genesis.  But  I  will  not 
insist  further  on  his  testimony,  the  only  one  I  have  referred  to,  in 
tliis  science,  of  an  author  expressly  defending  the  Scripture  narra- 
tive.t 

More  than  once  I  have  had  occasion  to  quote  the  opinions  of  the 
learned  Abel-Remusat,  a  man  who  may  justly  be  considered  the  re- 
viver and  great  facilitator  of  Chinese  literature,  and  who  possessed 
at  once  a  profound  knowledge  of  the  languages  of  Eastern  Asia,  and 


*  IJhi  sup.  "  Memoirs  of  the  Royal  Academy,"  jBerZin,  pp.  411—413. 

t  These  papers  are  printed  in  the  "Transactions  of  the  Royal 
Society  of  Literature,"  vol.  I,  part  1,  Lond.  1827,  pp.  17— lOG.  There 
are  many  inaccuracies  in  the  examples  given  in  these  elaborate  papers; 
and  a  system  of  philological  principles  is  employed,  which  will  not 
stand  the  tests  universally  admitted  by  continental  linguists.  No  notice 
whatsoever  is  taken  of  the  acknowledged  division  of  families:  the 
same  word,  s|)elt  differently,  perhaps  by  writers  of  different  countries, 
is  repeated  again  and  again,  and  some  given  which  do  not  exist  in  the 
languages  quoted. 

10 


74  LECTiTRS    TliF,    SF.COXD. 

a  reflective  philosophic  mind.  To  me  his  memory  must  ever  be 
joined  in  close  association  with  the  interest  I  feel  in  this  science  ; 
for  when  youno-,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  his  instructive  conver- 
sation thereon  with  others  as  learned  as  himself,  but,  like  him,  now 
no  more  : 

E  quale  il  cicognin  che  leva  I'ala 
Per  voglia  di  volar,  e  non  s'atteiita 
D'abbandonar  lo  nido,  e  giu  la  caia  ; 
Tal  era  io  con  voglia  accessa  e  S|)enta 
Di  dirwander,  venendo  iiifinoall'  atlo 
C!ie  fa  colui  cii'  a  dicor  .s'argouieiita  * 

His  work  on  the  Tartar  languages,  though  unfinished,  is  a  mine  of 
rare  information  upon  many  points  besides  its  immediate  subject ; 
and  is  distinguished  throughout  by  that  power  of  simplification  and 
analytical  resolution,  which  seems  to  have  been  one  of  his  peculiar 
faculties.  In  the  long  and  diversified  preliminary  discourse,  we 
have  his  sentiments  clearly  stated,  touching  the  accordance  of 
philological  ethnography  with  the  sacred  narrative.  For,  after  hav- 
ing expatiated  on  the  manner  in  which  linguistic  pursuits  may  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  history,  he  thus  concludes  : — "  It  is  then  we 
should  be  able  to  pronounce  with  precision,  what,  according  to  the 
language  of  a  people,  was  its  origin,  what  the  nations  with  which  it 
has  stood  in  relation,  what  the  character  of  that  relation  was,  to  what 
stock  it  belongs ;  at  least,  until  that  epoch  when  profane  histories 
cease,  and  where  we  should  find  among  languages  that  confusion 
^  which  gave  rise  to  them  all,  and  which  such  vain  attempts  have  been 
made  to  explain."! 


*  Dante,  "  Purgal."  xxv. 

Even  as  the  young  stork  lifteth  up  his  wing 
Tlirough  wish  to  fly,  yet  ventures  not  to  quit 
The  nest,  and  drops  it  ;  so  in  nie  desire 
Of  questioning  my  guide  arose,  and  fell. 
Arriving  even  to  the  act  that  marks 
A  man  prepared  for  si)ecoli. 

Gary's  Translation. 

f  "Rccherches  sur  les  Langues  Tartares,"  vol.  i.  p.  xxix. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  75 

But  in  fact,  if  once  we  admit  the  original  unity  of  language,  we 
can  hardly  account  for  its  subsequent  divisions  without  some  such 
phenomenon.  This  has  been  observed  by  the  sagacious  and  learned 
historian  Niebuhr,  in  one  of  those  occasional  excursions  which  we 
meet  in  his  work,  always  indicative  of  the  marvellous  diversity  of  his 
pursuits,  among  which  our  science  was  particularly  one.  And  I 
quote  the  following  passage  the  more  willingly,  because  in  the  first 
edition,  (I  believe  the  best  known  in  England,  through  the  able 
translation  made  of  it  shortly  after  its  appearance),  a  very  different 
sentiment  occupies  its  place.  "  This  fallacy,"  he  writes  in  his  third 
edition,  "escaped  detection  among  the  ancients,  probably  because 
they  admitted  several  primitive  races  of  mankind.  They  who  deny 
these,  and  go  back  to  a  single  pair,  must,  to  account  for  the  existence 
of  idioms  different  in  structure,  suppose  a  miracle:  and  for  those 
languages  which  differ  in  roots  and  essential  qualities,  adhere  to  that 
of  the  confusion  of  tongues.  The  admission  of  such  a  miracleoffends 
not  reason  ;  since,  as  the  remains  of  the  ancient  world  clearly  show, 
that,  before  the  present,  another  order  of  life  existed,  so  it  is  certainly 
credible  that  this  lasted  entire  after  its  commencement,  and  under- 
went at  some  period  an  essential  change. "t  And  to  this  remark  we 
may  add,  that  if  to  account  for  different  languages  we  must  have 
recourse  to  so  many  independent  races,  we  shall  be  driven  to 
the  necessity  of  admitting,  not  a  few  in  distant  quarters  of  the 
globe,  but  as  many  as  there  are  idioms  at  present  to  all  appearance 
unconnected, — that  is,  many  hundreds;  a  consequence  unphiloso- 
phical  in  its  principle,  for  it  goes  at  once  to  the  extremest  solution  of 
a  constant  phenomenon,  and  still  more  unphilosophical  in  its  applica- 
tion, for  we  must  multiply  the  races  almost  in  the  inverse  ratio  of  the 
numbers  that  compose  them  ;  for  the  smallest  tribes  and  the  most 
sub-divided  savage  populations,  exhibit,  in  the  most  marked  manner, 
remarkable  differences  of  language.  Hence  the  interior  of  Africa  or 
the  unexplored  tracts  of  Australia,  may  contain  more  races  than  the 
entire  of  Europe  and  Asia.  But  on  this  subject  more  will  shortly 
have  to  be  said. 

I  will  conclude  the  testimonies  of  ethnographers  by  that  of  Balbi, 
the  diligent  and  learned^  author  of  the  "Atlas  Ethnographique  du 


f  Nielinhr's  Roniische  Ge.«;ohiclite,  3  Ansg.  Inr  Th.  S.  60.  Com- 
pare the  English  translation,  1828,  j).  44.  It  is  jjleasing  to  see  these 
changes  in  spite  of  the  author's  declaration,  p.  xii. 


76  T.ECTURE  THE   SECOND. 

Globe."  This  work  consists  of  charts  classifying  languages  accord- 
ing to  ethnographic  kingdoms,  as  he  calls  them  ;  which  are  followed 
by  comparative  tables  of  elementary  words  in  every  known  language. 
The  accompanying  volume  of  introduction  contains  a  vast  collection 
of  valuable  and  interesting  information  on  the  general  principles  of 
the  science.  In  compiling  this  work,  Balbi  not  only  had  access  to 
every  class  of  information  actually  before  the  public,  but  received 
most  important  assistance  from  the  ablest  ethnographers  in  Paris, 
It  must  be  therefore  interesting  to  know  what  has  been  the  impres- 
sion produced  upon  the  mind  of  one  who  has  thus  gone  over  the 
entire  field  of  ethnographic  science,  and  has  heard  the  opinion  of 
those  who  have  devoted  their  lives  to  its  cultivation.  From  my  per- 
sonal intercourse  with  him  I  can  say,  that  he  is  lar  from  thinking  that 
the  researches  of  linguists  have  in  the  least  tended  to  impeach  the 
veracity  of  the  sacred  historian.  Nor  is  this  opinion  unrecorded  in 
his  work ;  for  in  his  first  chart  he  thus  expresses  it : — "  The  books 
of  Moses  no  monument  either  historical  or  astronomical,  has  yet 
been  able  to  prove  false  ;  but  w  ith  them,  on  the  contrary,  agree,  in 
the  most  remarkable  manner,  the  results  obtained  by  the  m.ost  learn- 
ed philologers,  and  the  profoundest  geometricians."  * 

Such  then  appears  to  be  the  two-fold  result  of  this  study,  once 
perhaps  a  dangerous  pursuit,  now  lending  a  valuable  and  ever-grow- 
ing evidence  to  the  narrative  of  Scripture.  Languages  gradually 
forming  themselves  into  groups,  and  those  groups  daily  tending  to 
approximate  and  claim  mutual  relationship,  assuredly  afford  the  best 
proof  of  a  former  point  of  departure,  and  serve  to  divide  the  human 
race  into  certain  great  characteristic  families,  whose  further  subdi- 
vision enters  into  the  province  of  history.  Like  those  grouped  but 
disunited  masses,  which  geologists  consider  as  the  ruins  of  former 
mountains,  we  see  in  the  various  dialects  of  the  globe  the  wrecks  of 
a  vast  monument  belonging  to  the  ancient  world.t  The  nice  exact- 
ness of  their  tallies  in  many  parts,  the  veins  of  similar  appearance 
which  may  be  traced  from  one  to  the  other,  show  that  they  have  been 
once  connected  so  as  to  form  a  whole  ;  while  the  boldness  and  rough- 


*  "Atlas  Ethnograpliique  du  Globe,"  par  Adrien  Balbi.     Par.  1826. 
Mappemonde  Ethiiog.  i. 

t  See   D'Aubuisson,  "  Trait6    de   Geogiiosie."    Slras.  1827,  tome  i. 
p.  227. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  i  i 

ness  of  outline  at  the  points  of  separation  prove  that  it  is  no  gradual 
devolution,  no  silent  action  which  has  divided,  but  some  violent  con- 
vulsion which  has  riven  them  asunder.  And  even  such  positive 
conclusions  you  have  seen  drawn  by  the  most  learned  ethnographers. 
There  is  still  one  branch  of  our  science  which  seems  without  the 
pale  of  all  that  has  been  hitherto  expounded  ;  and  it  would  be  unjust 
to  pass  it  over  in  silence.  All  the  history  of  this  study,  so  far  as  I 
have  given  it,  appears  to  apply  almost  exclusively  to  the  old  world, 
where  civilization  must  have  done  much  towards  assimilating  forms 
and  amalgamating  dialects;  whereas  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  and 
still  more  strikingly  in  the  western  hemisphere,  the  theory  of  language 
seems  to  refuse  submission  to  the  principles  we  have  established,  and 
the  endless  variety  of  tongues  involves  in  painful  mystery  the  origin 
of  the  population. 

The  number  of  dialects  spoken  by  the  natives  of  America  is  in- 
deed almost  incredible.  Choose  any  tract  of  the  old  world  where 
you  think  most  languages  spoken,  then  select  an  equal  space  at  ran- 
dom in  any  district  of  America  peopled  by  native  tribes,  and  the  lat- 
ter will  assuredly  give  a  greater  number  of  various  tongues.*  I  have 
been  myself  a  witness  to  such  anxiety  on  this  subject,  in  persons  of 
great  learning  and  good  understanding,  that  they  refused  credit  to 
Humboldt's  assertions  regarding  the  number  of  American  languages, 
rather  than  admit  what  they  deemed  an  almost  insuperable  objection 
to  the  Scripture  narrative.  For  we  cannot  suppose  each  of  these 
tribes,  speaking  a  language  totally  unintelligible  to  its  neighbors,  to 
be  lineally  descended  from  one  formed  at  the  dispersion,  without 
allowing  the  strange  anomaly,  that,  of  the  human  families  then  formed, 
such  countless,  yet  such  insignificant  tribes  should  have  wandered  to 
that  distance.  No  wonder,  therefore,  that  the  unbelievers  of  the  last 
century  should  have  taken  a  shorter  method  to  solve  this  problem, 
by  asserting  that  America  had  its  own  population,  independent  of 
that  in  the  older  continent.t  Here  too  the  friends  of  religion  came 
early  forward,  and,  as  too  often  has  happened,  with  crude  hypotheses 
and  groundless  theories  as  to  the  source  of  the  American  population, 
and  the  means  whereby  it  was  transported  into  that  country.  Cam- 
pomanes  patronized  the  Carthaginians,  Kircher  and  Huet  the  Egyp- 

*  See    Hinnboldt's    "  Essai    Politique  sur  la  Nouvelle  Espange." 
Paris,  1825,  tome  ii.  p.  352. 

f  See  Ballet's  "  Reponses  Critiques."   BesanQon,  1819,  vol.  ii.  p.  51. 


78  LECTUHE    THK    SECOND. 

tians,  De  Giiignes  the  Huns,  Sir  William  Jones  tlie  Indians,  and 
many  American  antiquaries  the  ten  tribes  of  Israel,    ^.,f..  joaX  ^^^oUo^r-i 

We  have  now  only  to  examine  what  light  ethnography  has  been 
able  to  throw  upon  this  question,  and  how  far  the  solutions  it  presents 
accord  with  the  gratifying  results  obtained  in  other  quarters  of  the 
globe.  The  first  step  towards  establishing  a  "connexion  between  the 
inhabitants  of  the  two  continents,  was  attempted  by  the  followers  of 
what  we  have  named  the  lexical  school,  and  consisted  of  the  com- 
parison of  words  in  American  dialects  with  terms  found  among  the 
nations  of  northern  and  eastern  Asia.  Smith-Barton  was  the  first 
who  made  any  progress  in  this  attempt,  and  his  labors  were  incorpo- 
rated in  a  very  extended  form  in  an  essay  by  Vater,  first  published 
in  1810,  and  afterwards  republished  in  his  Mithridates*  The  re- 
sults of  their  labors  I  will  give  in  the  words  of  a  competent  judge  : — 
"  Investigations  made  with  the  most  scrupulous  exactness,  in  follow- 
ing a  method  till  then  not  used  in  the  study  of  etymologies,  have 
proved  the  existence  of  a  few  words  common  to  the  vocabularies  of 
the  two  continents.  In  eighty-three  American  languages  examined 
by  Messrs.  Barton  and  Vater,  one  hundred  and  seventy  words  have 
been  found,  the  roots  of  which  appear  to  be  the  same  ;  and  it  is  easy 
to  perceive  that  this  analogy  is  not  accidental,  since  it  does  not  rest 
merely  upon  imitative  harmony,  or  on  that  conformity  of  organs  which 
produces  almost  a  perfect  identity  in  the  first  sounds  articulated  by 
children.  Of  these  one  hundred  and  seventy  words  which  have  this 
connexion,  three-fifths  resemble  the  Mantchou,  the  Tongouse,  the 
Mongul,  and  the  Samoyed  ;  and  two-fifths  the  Celtic  and  Tchoud, 
the  Biscayan,  the  Coptic,  and  the  Congo  languages.  These  words 
have  been  found  by  comparing  the  whole  of  the  American  languages 
with  the  whole  of  those  of  the  old  world  ;  for  hitherto  we  are  ac- 
quainted with  no  American  idiom  which  seems  to  have  an  exclusive 
correspondence  with  any  of  the  Asiatic,  African,  or  European 
tongues.'"  I" 

Malte-Brun  endeavored  to  advance  a  step  farther,  and  to  estab- 
lish what  he  calls  a  geographical  connexion  between  the  American 
and   Asiatic  languages.     After  a  minute  investigation,   his  conclu- 

*  "  Untersncl/mg  liber  Am(M'ikas  Bevolkerung^^^aus  dem  alten  Con- 
tiuente."  Ldpz.  1810.     "  Miihrid."  3  Th.  2  Abth.  p.  340. 

f  Alex,  von  Humboldt,  "Views  of  the  Cordilleras,"  Eng.  trnns. 
vol.  i.  p.  19. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES. 


79 


sions  are  these  : — that  tribes  connected  with  the  Finnish,  Ostiack, 
Permian,  and  Caucasian  families,  passing  along  the|borders  of  the 
Frozen  ocean,  and  crossing  over  Behring's  Straits,  spread  themselves 
in  very  different  directions  towards  Greenland  and  Chili :  that  others, 
allied  to  the  Japanese,  Chinese,  and  Kourilians,  proceeding  along  the 
coast,  penetrated  to  Mexico  ;*  and  that  another  colony,  related  to 
the  Tungooses,  Mantcheous,  and  Mongols,  passed  along  the  moun- 
tain tracts  of  both  continents,  and  reached  the  same  destination. 
Besides  these,  he  supposes  several  smaller  emigrations  to  have  borne 
over  a  certain  number  of  Malay,  Javanese,  and  African  words. t 
However  limited  the  comparisons  thus  made  may  appear,  it  has  been 
admitted,  as  you  have  seen,  by  the  sagacious  traveller  I  have  quoted, 
and  also  by  Balbi,  as  sufficient  to  prove  a  resemblance  between  the 
languages  of  the  two  continents,  too  marked  to  be  the  result  of 
accident. 

Still  I  will  own  that  I  consider  these  results  as  but  little  worth  ; 
both  because  the  resemblances  are  very  slight,  and  too  anomalous  to 
be  of  much  service,  and  because  the  very  authors  who  give  them, 
consider  these  migrations  as  simple  additions  to  a  population  already 
existing,  and  merely  as  modifying  agents  in  the  formation  or  altera- 
tion of  the  indigenous  languages.^  They  have  therefore,  if  satisfactory, 
only  this  value — that  they  authorize  us  to  conjecture  that  the  original 
population  reached  the  western  hemisphere  by  the  same  road  which 
subsequent  emigrations  held.  Hence  I  am  not  surprised  that  a  simi- 
lar attempt,  made  still  later  by  Siebold,  to  connect,  through  their 
respective  vocabularies,  the  Japanese  and  the  Moscas,  or  Muyscas, 
a  large  American  nation  between  Macarai'bo  and  Rio  de  la  Hacha, 
should  have  been  pronounced  unsuccessful,  by  the  committee  appoint- 
ed in  1829  to  examine  it  on  behalf  of  the  Paris  Asiatic  Society. § 


*  Humboldt  thinks  the  Tolteks,  or  Azteks,  who  colonized  Mexico, 

were  the  Hiongnoos,  who  are  said  in  the  Chinese  annals  to  have  emi- 
grated under  Piino  ;  and  to  have  been  lost  in  the  north  of  Siberia, 
"Essai  Folit."  p.  350.  See  also  Paravey,  "IMefuoire  sur  rorigine  Japn- 
naise,  Arabe,  et  Basque  des  peuples  du  plateau  de  Bogota."  Paris, 
18oi5. 

I  Tableau  de  I'enchainement  geographique  des  langues  Americaines 
et  Asiaticpies,  "  Geographic  Univ."  Paris,  182J,  tome  v.  p.  227,  seqq. 
comp.  p.  211. 

t  Vater,  p.  338.     Malte-Brun,  p.  212. 

§  Memoire  relatif  a  I'origine  des  Japonais,  "  Nouvcnii  Journal 
Asiatique,"  Juin,  1829,  p.  400. 


80  LECTURE    THE    SECOND. 

But  there  are  conclusions  drawn  by  ethnographic  science,  iVom 
the  observation  both  of  local  and  general  phenomena,  which  bear 
most  materially  upon  this  point,  and  have  completely  removed  all 
the  difficulties  arising  from  the  multiplicity  of  American  languages. 
And  first,  the  examination  of  the  structure  pervading  all  the  Ameri- 
can languages  has  left  no  room  to  doubt  that  they  all  form  one  indi- 
vidual family,  closely  knitted  together  in  all  its  parts  by  the  most 
essential  of  all  ties — grammatical  analogy.  This  analogy  is  not  of  a 
vague,  indefinite  kind,  but  complex  in  the  extreme,  and  affecting  the 
most  necessary  and  elementary  parts  of  grammar ;  for  it  consists 
chiefly  in  the  peculiar  methods  of  modifying  conjugationally  the 
meanings  and  relations  of  verbs,  by  the  insertion  of  syllables  ;  and 
this  form  led  the  late  W.  von  Humboldt  to  give  the  American  lan- 
guages a  family  name,  as  forming  their  conjugation  by  what  he 
termed  agglutination.  Nor  is  this  analogy  partial,  but  it  extends 
over  both  great  divisions  of  the  new  world,  and  gives  a  family  air  to 
languages  spoken,  under  the  torrid  and  arctic  zones,  by  the  wildest 
and  by  the  more  civilized  tribes.  "  This  wonderful  uniformity," 
says  one  writer,  "  in  the  peculiar  manner  of  firming  the  conjugation 
of  verbs  from  one  extremity  of  America  to  the  other,  favors  in  a 
singular  manner  the  supposition  of  a  primitive  people,  which  formed 
the  common  stock  of  the  Americn  indigenous  nations."*  Another 
remarks,  that  the  most  natural  conclusion  to  which  we  can  come, 
upon  seeing  such  an  extraordinary  affinity  between  languages  so 
many  hundreds  of  miles  asunder,  is,  "  that  there  is  a  divergence 
from  one  common  centre  of  civilization  in  all."f 

Secondly,  the  more  attention  is  paid  to  the  study  of  the  American 
languages,  the  more  they  are  found  subject  to  the  laws  of  other 
families,  inasmuch  as  this  one  great  family  tends  every  day  to  sub- 
divide itself  into  larger  groups,  having  closer  affinities  with  them- 
selves than  with  the  great  division  of  which,  in  their  turn,  they  form 
a  part.  Thus,  it  had  been  early  observed  by  the  missionaries,  that 
certain  languages  were  considered  keys  to  other  dialects,  so  that 
whoever  possessed  them,  easily  made  themselves  masters  of  the 
others.  This  remark  is,  I  remember,  somewhere  made  by  Hervas, 
and  subsequent  researches  have  amply  confirmed  it.  Hence  Baibi, 
in  his  Tableau  of  the    American  languages,  has  been  able  to  divide 

*  Malte-Brun,  p.  217,  comp.  p.  213.  t  Vater,  p.  329. 


STL'DY    OF    LANGUAGES.  81 

them  into   certain   great  provinces,  holding  within  them  ninnerous 
dependencies. 

Thus,  therefore,  is  tlie  objection  to  the  unity  of  the  American 
nations,  drawn  from  the  multiplicity  of  their  languages,  satisfactorily 
removed,  by  the  very  study  within  which  it  had  arisen  :  and  with  it 
the  difficulty  of  their  belonging  to  a  common  stock  with  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  older  world.  But  the  collection  and  comparison  of  facts 
connected  with  linguistic  researches,  have  led  to  a  further,  and 
equally  satisfactory,  result ;  for  you  will  see  that  we  yet  have  to  ac- 
count for  the  dissimilarity  of  dialects  spoken  by  nations  or  tribes 
bordering  on  each  other,  and  composed  of  trifling  numbers.  Now, 
it  has  been  observed,  that  this  is  a  phenomenon  noways  peculiar  to 
America,  but  common  to  all  uncivilized  countries.  Had  we  no 
other  criterion  of  unity  of  origin  but  language,  we  should  perhaps  be 
under  difficulties  in  examining  this  point.  But  another  science,  where- 
of we  shall  treat  in  the  next  lecture,  and  which  will  greatly  confirm  the 
conclusions  I  am  drawing,  is  able  to  fix  characteristics,  whereby  the 
connexions  of  tribes  in  unity  of  race  may  be  easily  determined.  And 
yet  it  is  found,  that  in  instances,  where  no  doubt  can  exist  of  savage 
hordes  having  been  originally  united,  there  has  sprung  among  them 
so  endless  and  so  complete  a  variety  of  dialect,  that  little  or  no 
affinity  can  be  therein  discovered.  And  hence  we  have,  as  it  were, 
a  rule,  that  the  savage  state,  by  insulating  families  and  tribes,  and 
raising  the  arm  of  each  one  ever  against  its  neighbors,  has  essentially 
the  contrary  influence  to  the  aggregating,  unifying,  tendencies  of 
social  civilization  ;  and  necessarily  introduces  a  jealous  diversity, 
and  unintelligible  idioms,  into  the  jargons  which  hedge  round  the 
independence  of  different  hordes. 

Nowhere  has  this  disuniting  power  been  more  attentively  exam- 
ined than  among  the  tribes  of  Polynesia.  "  The  Papuans  or  Oriental 
negroes,"  says  Dr.  Leyden,  "  seem  to  be  all  divided  into  very  small 
States,  or  rather  societies,  very  little  connected  with  each  other. 
Hence  their  language  is  broken  into  a  multitude  of  dialects,  which, 
in  process  of  time,  by  separation,  accident,  or  oral  corruption,  have 
nearly  lost  all  resemblance."*  "  Languages,"  says  Mr.  Crawfurd, 
"  follow  the  same  progress.  In  the  savage  state  they  are  great  in 
number,  in  improved  society  few.  The  state  of  languages  on  the 
American  continent  affords  a  convincing  illustration  of  this  fact ;  and 

*  "  Asiatic  Researches,"  vol.  x.  p.  162. 
11 


82  LECTURE    THE    SECOND. 

It  is  not  less  satisfactorily  explained  in  that  of  the  Indian  islands. 
The  negro  races,  who  inhabit  the  mountains  of  the  Malaya  peninsula, 
in  the  lowest  and  most  abject  state  of  social  existence,  though  nu- 
merically few,  are  divided  into  a  great  many  distinct  tribes,  speaking 
as  many  different  languages.  Among  the  rude  and  scattered  popu- 
lation of  the  island  of  Timor,  it  is  believed  that  not  less  than  forty 
languages  are  spoken.  On  Ende  and  Flores  we  have  also  a  multi- 
plicity of  languages  ;  and  among  the  cannibal  population  of  Borneo, 
it  is  not  improbable  that  many  hundreds  are  spoken."*  The  same 
facts  may  be  observed  in  relation  to  the  tribes  of  Australia,  who  be- 
long to  the  same  race,  by  examining  the  list  of  words  peculiar  to 
different  tribes,  which  Captain  King  has  given  us.t  The  greatest 
dissimilarity  exists  among  them  ;  some,  however,  as  the  equivalents 
for  eye,  pervade  them  all,  and  occasionally,  as  in  the  terms  for  hair, 
tribes  immediately  in  contact  differ  essentially,  and  yet  are  found 
respectively  to  agree  with  other  islands  far  removed.  Now,  if  these 
causes  so  act  elsewhere,  they  must  be  far  more  powerful  in  America  ; 
for  there,  as  Humboldt  has  well  observed,  "  the  configuration  of  the 
soil,  the  strength  of  vegetation,  the  apprehensions  of  the  mountain- 
eers, under  the  tropics,  of  exposing  themselves  to  the  burning  heat 
of  the  plains,  are  obstacles  to  communication,  and  contribute  to  the 
amazing  variety  of  American  dialects.  This  variety,  it  is  observed, 
is  more  restrained  in  the  savannas  and  forests  of  the  North,  which 
are  easily  traversed  by  the  hunter,  on  the  banks  of  great  rivers,  along 
the  coast  of  the  ocean,  and  in  every  country  where  the  Incas  had  es- 
tablished their  theocracy  by  force  of  arms.'  | 

Thus,  then,  I  think,  that  in  this  department  of  its  researches, 
ethnography  will  be  found  to  have  done  its  duty,  by  first  reducing 
the  immense  number  of  American  dialects  into  one  family,  and  then 
accounting  by  analogy,  for  their  extraordinary  multiplicity.  But,  as 
the  course  of  lectures  I  have  sketched  out,  will  not  bring  us  again 
into  this  interesting  quarter  of  the  globe,  I  will  draw  a  little  further 
on  your  kind  indulgence,  while  I  touch  upon  a  i^w  evidences  of  the 
connexion  between  the  inhabitants  of  the  two  worlds,  so  to  supply 
the  defects  of  our  ethnographic  acquaintance  with  their  idioms. 

*  "History  of  the  Indian  Archipelago,"  vol.  ii.  p.  79. 

f  "Narrative  of  a  Survey  of  the  Intertropical  and  Western  Coasts 
of  Australia,"  London,  182G,  vol.  ii.  Append. 

J  "  Views  of  the  Cordilleras,"  vol.  i.  p.  17. 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES  83 

First,  we  have  the  traditions  of  the  Americans  themselves,  which 
describe  them  as  a  migratory  people,  proceeding  southward  from  the 
northwest.     The  Tolteks,  then  the  seven  tribes  as  they  are  called, 
the   Checkeneks,  and  the  Azteks,   are  all  represented  in  Mexican 
history,  as  successive  nations  arriving  in  Anahuac  or   Mexico.     In 
the  hieroglyphic  picture  exhibiting  the  migrations  of  this  last  people, 
they  are  "represented,  according  to  Borturini,  as  crossing  the   sea, 
probably  the  Gulf  of  California,  a  circumstance  which  can  leave  no 
doubt  respecting  the  course  they  held.     These  traditions  further  re- 
cord the  arrival  of  later  settlers,  who  greatly  advanced  the  civilization 
of  those   countries.     Manco  Capac  is  the  most  celebrated   among 
them,  as  being  the  founder  of  the  dynasty  and  religion  of  the  Incas. 
A  fanciful  writer  has  seized  upon  this  circumstance,  and  built  upon 
it  a  complete  history  of  a  conquest^of  Peru  and  Mexico  by  the  Mon- 
guls.*     He  supposes  Mungo  Capac  to  have  been  the  son  of  Kublai, 
the  Mongul  emperor,  grandson  of  Genghis  Khan,  who  was  sent  by 
his  father  with  a  great  fleet  against  Japan.     A  storm  dispersed  the 
fleet,  so  that  it  returned  not  home  any  more,  and  this  author  imagines 
it  to'have  been  driven  on  the  coast  of  America,  where  the  command- 
er made  himself  a  chief     Ingenious  as  this  may  be,  and  even  proba- 
ble the  evidence  brought  to  establish  it,  appears  very  unsatisfactory. 
Many  analogies  may  doubtless  be  found  between  the  Peruvians  and 
Monguls,  bu"    they   may   easily    be   explained   from   other  sources. 
However,  chronological  data,  the  nature  of  the  religion  they  establish- 
ed, and  the  monuments  they  erected,  leave  no  room  to  doubt,  that 
Thibet  or  Tartary  was  the  original  country  of  Mungo  Capac's  emi- 
gration, j 

Secondly,  the  computation  of  time  among  the  Americans,  affords 
too  marked  a  coincidence,  in  matters  of  mere  caprice,  with  that  of 
eastern  Asia,  to  be  purely  accidental.  The  division  of  time  into 
greater  cycles  of  years,  again  subdivided  into  smaller  portions,  each 
whereof  bears  a  certain  name,  is,  with  trifling  diff"erence,  the  plan 
followed  among  the  Chinese,  Japanese,  Kalmucks,  Monguls,  and 

*  Rankino's  Historical  Researches  on  the  Conquest  of  Pern  and 
Mexico,  etc.  in  the  ISth  century,  by  the  Mongols,  accon.panied  w,th 
eienhants,  Lond.  1827.  The  spirit  of  system  occasionally  betrays  the 
ingenious  author  into  a  mistake.  Thus,  p.  419,  he  refers  to  Humboldt 
as  an  authority  for  a  Tartar  inscription  said  to  have  been  found  in 
Narraganse-  Bay,  whereas  Humboldt,  in  the  very  place,  rejects  the 
story  as  more  than  doubtful. 


84  T.KCTURK    THE     SKCOND. 

Mantcheoiis,  as  well  as  amoiiif  the  Tolteks,  Azteks,  aii(J  other 
American  nations;  and  the  character  of  their  respective  methods  is 
precisely  the  same,  particnhirly  if  those  of  the  Mexicans  and  Japan- 
ese be  compared.  But  a  comparison  of  the  zodiac,  as  existincr 
among  the  Tibetans,  Monguls,  and  Japanese,  with  the  names  given 
by  this  American  nation  to  the  days  of  the  month,  will,  I  think, 
satisfy  the  most  incredulous.  The  identical  signs  are,  t'le  tiger, 
hare,  serpent,  ape,  dog,  and  bird,  in  all  which,  it  is  plain  there  is  no 
natural  aptitude  tiuit  could  have  suggested  their  adoption  in  both 
continents.  This  strange  coincidence  is  still  further  enhanced  by 
the  curious  fact,  that  several  of  the  Mexican  signs,  wanting  in  the 
Tartar  zodiac,  are  found  in  the  Hindoo  Shastras,  exactly  in  corres- 
ponding positions.  These  are  no  less  arbitrary  than  the  former; 
being  a  house,  a  cane,  a  knife,  and  three  foot-prints.  But  to  do 
justice  to  this  subject,  it  would  be  necessary  to  enter  into  much 
minuter  details.* 

Lastly,  were  every  thing  else  wanting,  the  clear  traditions  so 
vividly  preserved  among  the  Americans  of  man's  early  history,  of  the 
flood  and  the  dispersion,  so  exactly  conformable  to  those  of  the  old 
world,  must  remove  every  hesitation  regarding  their  origin.  The 
Azteks,  Mitteks,  Flascalteks,  and  other  nations,  had  innumerable 
paintings  of  these  latter  events.  Tezpi  or  Coxcox,  as  the  American 
Noah  is  called,  is  seen  floating  in  an  ark  upon  the  waters,  and  with 
him  his  uife,  children,  many  animals,  and  several  species  of  grain. 
When  the  waters  withdrew,  Tezpi  sent  out  a  vulture,  which,  being 
able  to  feed  on  the  carcases  of  the  drowned,  returned  no  more. 
After  the  experiment  had  failed  with  several  others,  the  humming- 
bird at  length  came  back,  bearing  a  green  branch  in  its  little  beak. 
In  the  same  hieroglyphic  painting,  the  dispersion  of  mankind  is  thus 
represented.  The  first  men  after  the  deluge  were  dumb  ;  and  a 
dove  is  seen  perched  upon  a  tree,  giving  to  each  a  tongue,  the  conse- 
quence whereof  is,  that  the  families,  fifteen  in  number,  disperse  in 
different  directions. f  This  coincidence,  which  reminds  me  that  I 
am  still  indulging  in  digression,  would  alone  be  sufficient  to  establish 
a  link  of  close  connexion  between  the  nations  of  the  two  continents. 
But,  in  fact,  so  numerous,  so  extraordinary,  and  so  minute,  are  the 
resemblances  between   them,  that  in  a  [)ublication  of  which  I  must 

*  See  the  comparative  plates,  etc.  in  the  3nd  vol.  of  tlio  Views  of 
the  Cordillera?. 

f  Humhoklt,  ib.  pp.  65,  G6. 


STtlDV    OF    LANGUAGES. 


85 


say  a  few  words,  two  long  and  elaborate  dissertations  have  been  in- 
serted, to  prove  that  Jews  first,  and  then  Christians,  colonized 
America.* 

The  work  to  which  I  allude,  is  the  truly  royal  collection  of  Mexi- 
can monuments,  published  by  Lord  Kingsborough,  a  treasure  of  ma- 
terials for  such  as  dedicate  themselves  to  their  study.  It  seems  im- 
possible to  look  through  these  splendid  volumes  without  being  struck 
with  the  varied  character  of  art  therein  exhibited.  The  hieroglyphic 
figures  representing  the  human  form  in  squat  and  distorted  propor- 
tions, have  nothing  in  common  with  the  sculptured  reliefs.  Here 
we  have  tall  figures  standing  in  warlike  attitudes  ;  there,  females  sit- 
ting cross-legged  upon  double-headed  monsters,  with  children  in 
their  arms,  their  necks  surrounded  by  strings  of  pearls,  their  heads 
crowned  with  conical  and  fretted  head-dresses,  sometimes  formed  of 
animals  ;  in  another  place  we  meet  the  tortoise,  the  sacred  emblem 
of  India  ;  in  another  we  see  the  serpent  winding  round  the  tree,  or 
men  threatened  to  be  swallowed  by  misshapen  monsters  ;  so  that  we 
imagine  ourselves  to  be  examining  the  sculptures  of  some  Indian 
cavern,  or  ancient  pagoda.t  And  I  would  add,  that  the  type  of 
countenance  in  these  sculptures  is  no  way  American,  but  strongly 
recals  to  mind  the  early  Indian  manner.  Then  we  have  another 
class  of  monuments,  equally  distinct,  and  seeming  to  harmonize  with 
Egyptian  art.  We  have  pyramids  constructed  upon  the  same  model, 
and  apparently  for  the  same  purposes  ;  we  have  figures  closely 
wrapped  up,  so  that  only  the  feet  below,  and  the  hands  at  either  side, 
appear,  as  in  Egyptian  statues ;  while  the  head-dress  surrounds  the 
head  and  drops  down  at  each  side,  pushing  forward  enormous  ears  : 
besides  other  kneeling  figures,  where  this  attire  is  still  more  marked, 
so  that,  as  Enea  duirino  Visconti  observed,  they  might  have  been 
copied  from  the  portico  at  Dendara,  whose  capitals  they  exactly  re- 
semble. In  figures,  too,  of  this  class,  the  physiognomy  is  by  no 
means  the  same  as  in  the  former,  but  of  a  character  more  suiting  the 
style  of  art.| 

*  The  antiquities  of  Mexico,  pubiislied  by  A.  Aglio,  vol.  vi.  p.  232 — 
409,  and  409—420. 

t  See  vol.  iv.  part.  i.  Fig.  20,  36  ;  27,  28,  32 :  Specimens  of  Mexi- 
can sculpture,  in  possession  of  M.  Latour  Allard  at  Paris,  fig.  15,  part 
iii.  fig.  8. 

I  See  ii).  p.  i.  fig.  l,seqq.  :  48.     Latour's  mon.  figg.  8,  14,  elo. 


86  LECTURE    THE    SECOND. 

Who  shall  solve  this  riddle  for  us,  and  say  whetlier  these  resem- 
blances are  accidental,  or  produced  by  some  actual  communication  1 
Assuredly  this  is  yet  a  land  of  mystery  and  clouds,  and  much  study 
is  yet  requisite,  to  clear  up  anomalies,  to  reconcile  contradictions, 
and  place  our  knowledge  upon  a  stabler  footing.  We  cannot  even 
remove  difficulties  of  this  nature  nearer  our  own  time  ;  we  cannot, 
for  instance,  explain  how,  as  Muratori  has  proved,  Brazil  wood  should 
be  entered  among  the  taxable  commodities,  at  the  gates  of  Modena, 
in  1306  :  or  how  Andrea  Bianco's  map,  preserved  in  St.  Mark's  Li- 
brary at  Venice,  and  constructed  in  1436,  should  place  an  island  in 
the  Atlantic,  with  the  very  name  Brasile.  How  much  more  must 
we  be  involved  in  difficulties,  when  we  attempt  to  unravel  the  intri- 
cacies of  primeval  records,  or  reconstruct  an  early  history  from  a 
few  fragmentary  monuments. 

And  in  conclusion,  I  would  remark,  that  many  other  problems 
there  are,  in  the  history  of  languages,  which  enter  into  the  mysteries 
of  nature,  and  have  their  solution  involved  in  those  hidden  laws  of 
her  constitution,  that  form  her  links  with  the  moral  ordinance  of  the 
world.  For,  it  might  be  asked,  how  is  it  that  languages  so  easily 
sprung  up  in  early  ages,  which  till  now  have  remained  unchanged  ; 
or  rather,  how  were  their  first  fiimilies  so  soon  divided  into  dialects, 
essentially  fixed  and  independent,  while  in  the  progress  of  time  man- 
kind have  formed  little  more  than  dialects  of  these,  provincial  idioms 
or  manifest  derivations,  hardly  any  further  prolific  ?  For,  within  a 
very  short  period  after  the  dispersion,  must  the  Sanskrit,  the  Greek, 
and  the  Latin,  or,  at  least,  its  parent-tongue,  have  separated  from 
one  another,  and  received  their  marked  characteristic  forms :  and  in 
the  Semitic  family  the  separation  must  have  been  equally  early. 
Now,  as  well  might  we  ask,  why  the  oak,  only  near  its  roots,  sends 
forth  huge  gigantic  branches,  each  whereof  shall  of  itself  seem  large 
enough  to  form  another  tree,  and  have  its  own  dominion  of  boughs, 
and  its  own  crown  of  yearly  shoots,  while  later  it  can  only  put  forth 
a  punier  and  less  vigorous  offspring,  wherein  the  generating  virtue 
seems  almost  exhausted.  And  truly  there  is  a  sap  in  nations  as  well 
as  in  trees,  a  vigorous  inward  power,  ever  tending  upwards,  draw- 
ing its  freshest  energies  from  the  simplest  institutions,  and  the  purest 
virtues,  and  the  healthiest  moral  action.  While  these  form  the  soil 
wherein  a  people  is,  as  it  were,  deeply  rooted,  its  powers  are  almost 
boundless  ;  and,  as  these  alter  and  become  exhausted,  it  likewise 
will  be  weakened,  and  decay.     Assuredly,  there  was  a  vigpr  in  the 


STUDY    OF    LANGUAGES.  0< 

human  mind,  as  compared  with  ours,  gigantic,  when  the  Homeric 
songs  were  the  poetry  of  the  wandering  minstrel,  when  shepherd- 
chiefs,  like  Abraham,  could  travel  from  nation  to  nation,  und  even 
associate  with  their  kings,  and  when  an  infant  people  cou  J  imagine 
and  execute  monuments  like  the  Egyptian  pyramids. 

And  if  of  nations  we  so  may  speak,  what  shall  we  say  of  the  en- 
tire human  race,  when  all  its  energies  were,  in  a  manner,  pent  up  in 
its  early  and  few  progenitors  ;  when  the  children  of  Noah,  removed 
but  a  few  generations  from  the  recollections  and  lessons  of  Eden,  and 
possessing  the  accumulated  wisdom  of  long-lived  patriarchs,  were 
marvellously  fitted  to  receive  those  strange  and  novel  impressions, 
which  a  world,  just  burst  forth  in  all  its  newness,  was  calculated  to 
make  ;  yea,  when  they,  themselves  an  infant  race,  struggling  on  one 
side  against  the  ravages  of  the  late  disaster,  and  on  another,  against 
the  luxuriancy  of  its  renovating  influence,  must  have  felt  within 
themselves  a  boundless  energy  in  thought  and  action,  a  quickness  of 
apprehension,  a  richness  of  contrivance,  and  a  might  in  execution 
equal  to  the  crisis,  and  such  as  later  generations  could  never  want. 
And  from  minds  thus  subject  to  such  peculiar  impressions,  alive  to 
such  unmodified  feelings,  and  so  strongly  compelled  to  note  their 
action,  the  first  coinage  of  language  must  have  received  an  impress 
and  an  image,  bolder  and  more  indelible  than  after  times  could 
have  communicated,  when  the  early  springs  of  vigorous  action  had 
been  impaired,  or  had  ceased  to  act. 

But  we  are  not,  I  think,  to  imagine,  that  Divine  Providence,  in 
distributing  to  different  human  families  this  holy  gift  of  speech,  had 
no  further  purpose  than  the  material  dispersion  of  the  human  race, 
or  the  bestowing  on  them  varied  forms  of  utterance  ;  there  was  doubt- 
less therein  a  deeper  and  more  important  end  —  the  sharing  out 
among  them  of  the  intellectual  powers.  For  language  is  so  mani- 
festly the  embodying  power,  the  incarnation,  so  to  speak,  of  thought, 
that  we  can  almost  as  easily  imagine  to  ourselves  a  soul  without  a 
body,  as  our  thoughts  unclothed  by  the  forms  of  their  outward  ex- 
pression. And  hence  these  organs  of  the  spirit's  conceptions  must, 
in  their  turn,  mould,  control,  and  modify,  its  peculiar  character,  so 
that  the  mind  of  a  nation  must  necessarily  correspond  to  the  language 
it  possesses. 

The  Semitic  family,  destitute  of  particles  and  grammatical  forms 
suited  to  express  the  relations  of  things,  stiffened  by  an  unyielding 
construction,  and  confined   by  the  dependence  of  words  upon  verbal 


88  LECTURE    THE     SECOND. 

.roots  to  ideas  of  outward  action,  could  not  lead  the  mind  to  abstract 
I  or  abstruse  ideas  ;  and  hence  its  dialects  have  been  ever  adapted  for 
j  the  simplest  historical  narratives,  and  for  the  most  exquisite  poetry, 
where  mere  impressions  or  sensations  are  felt  and  described   in  the 
most  rapid  succession;  while  not  a  school  of  native   philosophy  has 
arisen  within  their  pale,  not  an  element  of  metaphysical   thought  oc- 
curs in  their  sublimest  compositions.     Hence  are  the  deepest  revela- 
I     tions  of  religion,  the  most  awful  denunciations  of  prophecy,  the  wisest 
lessons  of  virtue,  clothed,   in  Hebrew,   under  imagery  drawn   from 
[     outward  nature.     And  in  this  respect,  the  author  of  the  Koran  neces- 
sarily followed  the  same  course. 

But  to  tiie   Indo-European  was  given  a  wonderful   suppleness  in 
I   expressing  the  inward  and  outward  relations  of  things,  by  flexion  in 
I    its  nouns,  by  conditional   and   indefinite  tenses  in  its  verbs,  by  the 
;    tendency  to  make  or  adapt  innumerable  particles,  but  principally  by 
the  powerful   and   almost  unlimited   faculty  of  compounding  words  : 
joined   whereunto  is  the   facility  of  varying,  inverting,  and   involving 
the  construction,  and  the  power  of  immediately  and  completely  trans- 
ferring the  force  of  words,  from  a  material  to  a  purely  mental  repre- 
sentation.    Hence,  while  it  is  a  fit  instrument  for  effecting  the  lof- 
tiest designs  of  genius,  it  is  no  less  powerful  in  the  hands  of  the  phi- 
losopher ;  and   in  it,  and   by  it,  have   arisen  those  varied   systems, 
which,  in  ancient  India,  and  in  later  Greece,  and  in  modern  Ger- 
many,  have  attempted  to   fathom   the   human   understanding,   and 
analyze  to  their  primitive  elements  the  forms  of  our  ideas.* 

And  do  you  not  see  in  all  this,  a  subserviency  to  still  nobler  de- 
signs, when  in  conjunction  with  these  reflections,  you  look  back  at 
the  order  observed  by  God  in  the  manifestation  of  his  religion?  For 
so  long  as  his  revelations  were  rather  to  be  preserved  than  propaga- 
ted, while  his  truths  regarded  principally  the  history  of  man  and  his 
simplest  duties  towards  God,  when  his  law  consisted  of  precepts 
rather  of  outward  observance  than  of  inward  constraint,  while  the 


*  As  an  illustration  of  these  remarks,  I  may  say  that,  in  our  times, 
the  transcendental  philosophy  could  hardly  have  risen  in  any  country 
except  Germany,  whose  language  possesses  the  characteristics  cf  the 
family  more  than  any  other,  and  could  tnost  easily  permit  or  suggest 
the  using  of  the  first  pronoun  objectively,  a  violence  too  great,  in  other 
European  languages,  for  them  to  have  first  devised  it.  In  Latin,  for 
instance,  where  there  is  no  article,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  express  it ; 
nor  could  one  using  that  language  have  conceived  such  an  idea. 


STUDY  OF   LANGUAGES.  89 

direction  of  men  was  uiaiuiged  rather  by  the  iiiv'i^terious  agency  of 
seers  into  futurity,  than  by  the  steady  rule  of  unalterablej  law,  the 
entire  system  of  religion  was  deposited  in  the  hands  of  that  human 
family  whose  intellectual  character  and  language  were  admirably 
framed  for  clinging  with  tenacity  to  simple  traditions  of  early  days, 
and  for  describing  all  that  was  on  the  outside  of  man,  and  lent  them- 
selves most  effectually  to  the  awful  ministry  of  the  prophet's  mission 
But  no  sooner  is  a  mighty  change  introduced  into  the  grojnd- 
work  of  his  revelation,  and  the  faculties  unto  which  it  is  addressed, 
than  a  corresponding  transfer  manifestly  takes  place  in  the  family, 
whereunto  its  ministration  and  principal  direction  are  obviously  com- 
mitted. The  religion  now  intended  for  the  whole  world,  and  for 
each  individual  of  the  human  race,  requiring  in  consequence  a  more 
varied  evidence  to  meet  the  wants  and  satisfy  the  longings  of  every 
tribe  and  every  country,  and  every  age,  is  handed  over  "  to  other 
husbandmen,"  whose  deeper  power  of  thoi'i^ht,  whose  ever  eager  im- 
pulse to  investigate  would  more  easily  discover  and  bring  to  light  its 
inexhaustible  beauties  ;  who  would  search  out  its  connexions  with 
every  other  order  of  truth,  every  other  system  of  God's  dispensation; 
thus  ever  bringing  forth  new  motives  of  conviction,  and  new  themes 
of  praise.  And  in  this  manner  Divine  Wisdom,  while  it  hath  made 
the  substance  of  religion  one  and  immutable,  hath  yet  in  a  manner 
tied  its  evidences  to  the  restless  wheel  of  man's  endeavor,  and  min- 
gled them  with  the  other  motives  of  his  impelling  desires  :  that  so 
every  step  made  in  the  prosecution  of  sound  study  and  humble  in- 
quiry, may  give  them  also  a  new  advance,  and  a  varied  position  ;  on 
which  the  reflecting  mind  may  dwell  with  surpassing  admiration. 
And  how  this  has  happened  with  the  science  of  Ethnography,  I 
trust  you  have  now  sufficiently  seen. 


12 


LECTURE  THE  THIRD; 

ON 

THE  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE   HUMAN  RACE. 

PART  I. 


History  of  this  Science. — Division  of  Human  Families  among  the 
Greeks. — Aristotle's  Classification. — Who  are  his  Eiryptians  ? — 
Proofs  that  they  represent  the  Negro  race  ;  the  Scythians  and  the 
Thracians  are  Germanic  and  Moiigul  tribes. — Later  writers. — Sys- 
tem of  Camper  explained  ;  its  difficulties. — Blumenhach's  System  of 
Classification. — Division  into  three  primary,  and  two  secon(hu-y, 
families;  first,  by  the  form  of  the  skull  ;  secondly,  by  the  color,  hair 
and  iris. — Geographical  distribution  of  families. — Distinction  between 
Tartars  and  Monguls. — Labors  of  Dr.  I'richard. — Opposers  of  the 
unity  of  the  human  race  ;  Virey,  Desmoulins,  Bory  de  Saint-Vincent; 
Theory  of  Lamarck.  Results. — L  Remote  examination  of  the 
subject  by  analogy  of  plants,  and  animals. — Examples  of  varieties  in 
these  of  a  similar  character  to  those  observable  in  man.  H.  Direct 
examination  of  phenomena  on  a  small  scale. — Tendency  of  one 
family  to  produce  varieties  possessing  the  characteristics  of  another. 
— Examples  of  more  extraordinary  peculiarities  springing  U[)  among 
men. — Reflections  on  the  identity  of  moral  feelings  in  all  races,  as 
applicable  to  the  proc-if  of  their  common  origin. 

If  St  Paul  warns  us  to  avoid  perplexing  ourselves  with  vain  and 
endless  genealogies,  it  might  be  thought  that  the  study  whereon  we 
are  now  entering,  belongs  to  the  forbidden  class.  For,  assuredly, 
the  attempt  to  trace  out  the  course  and  origin  of  each  variety  in  the 
human  species,  back  to  one  common  progenitor,  must  seem  nn  al- 
most hopeless  task  ;  when  we  consider  how  the  investigation  it  re- 
quires has  been  involved  in  numerous  and  complicated  questions,  by 
the  contradictory  statements  of  writers,  and  by  the  conflicting  prin- 
ciples on  which  it  has  been  conducted.  Still,  the  successful  results 
of  the  science  last  discussed,  may  well  encourage  us  to  undertake 
the  examination  of  this  its  sister  science — the  history  of  the  human 


92  r.EOTORK    THK    'DriRD. 

race.  It  maj',  indeed,  he  said,  that  their  objects  are  very  nearly  the 
same,  even  so  far  that  a  coninioii  name  might  perhaps  be  given  them, 
descriptive  of  their  object,  with  a  distinctive  epithet  to  mark  the  pro- 
cesses whereby  they  seek  to  attain  it.  And  if  the  former  was  rightly 
called  philological,  this  miglit  be  not  unaptly  styled  physiognoinical 
Ethiiograplii/. 

The  former  lias  already  bronglit  ns  to  the  .satisfactory  conclusion, 
that  so  far  as  languages  in  their  comparative  bearings,  may  be  heard 
in  evidence  on  the  subject,  the  entire  huma:n  race  formed  originally 
one  family,  or,  in  the  words  of  the  sacred  penman,  "  were  of  one  lip 
and  one  speech."  But  if  great  difficulties  had  to  be  overcome  for 
the  vindication  of  this  scrij)tural  assertion,  arising  from  the  great  va- 
riety of  idioms  which  now  divide  tlse  tribes  of  earth,  a  stronger  and 
more  couij)licated  one  yet  remains,  striking  more  directly  at  the  unity 
of  the  huniui  race,  and  its  origin  from  one  stock.  This  consists  in 
the  consideration  of  tiiose  physical  differences  tliat  distinguish  the 
human  form,  in  various  regions  of  the  globe. 

The  Word  of  God  has  always  considered  mankind  as  descended 
from  one  parent,  and  the  great  mystery  of  redemption  rests  upon  the 
belief  that  all  men  sinned  in  their  common  father.  Suppose  different 
and  unconnected  creations  of  men,  and  the  deep  mystery  of  original 
sin,  and  the  glorious  mystery  of  redemption,  are  blotted  out  from  re- 
ligion's book.  Is  it  not  then  important  to  answer  their  reasoning, 
who  maintain,  it  is  impossibk^  to  reduce  the  many  varieties  of  human 
families  into  one  species,  or  trace  them  to  one  common  progenitor; 
who  assert  that  natural  history  doth  show  such  deeply-entrenched 
divisions  between  tl)*?  physical  characteriptics  of  different  nations,  as 
that  one  could  never  have  been  derived  froiii  the  other  ;  and  that  no 
conceivable  action  ofcauses,  either  instantaneous  or  progressive,  could 
have  ever  altered  the  European's  shape  and  color  into  the  negro's,  or 
caused  "  the  Ethiopean  to  change  his  skin,"  and  produce  the  Asiatic 
race  ?  And  how  shall  this  confutation  be  obtained  ?  Assuredly  by  no 
other  means  than  I  have  already  suggested  to  you,  and  intend  often 
yet  to  inculcate  and  exemplify — by  the  deeper  study  of  that  very 
science  which  has  engendered  the  objection — by  the  collection  of 
yet  better  evidence  tlian  has  already  been  produced — and  by  a  well 
digested  classification  of  phenomena,  whence  satisfactory  conclusions 
may  be  drawn. 

This  task,  pursuant  to  my  engagements,  I  enter  upon  this  morn- 
ing.   .1  will  premise  a  historical  view  of  this  ?f  ionce,  dwelling,  per- 


NATURAI.   HISTORY  OF   MAN.  93 

haps  more  fully  than  may  appear  consistent  with  my  plan,  upon  the 
earliest  stages  of  its  history,  for  motives  which  will  easily  be  seen  ;  I 
will  then  endeavor  to  classify  and  arrange  the  conclusions  which  the 
study  in  its  present  state  may  justly  warrant  us  to  draw,  supporting 
them  with  such  additional  illustrations  as  I  have  been  able  to  col- 
lect, and  then  will  leave  you  to  compare  these  conclusions  with  the 
history  of  the  human  race  delivered  to  us  in  Genesis. 

The  mention  of  this  sacred  record  brings  before  my  mind,  with 
regret,  a  passage,  which  being,  as  it  were,  preliminary  to  the  very 
subject  I  am  going  to  handle,  and  presenting  a  direct  contradiction 
to  what  I  have  just  asserted,  I  may  not  in  silence  pass  over.  "  The 
Mosaic  account,"  says  a  learned  writer,  "  does  not  make  it  quite 
clear  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  descended  from  Adam  and 
Eve.  Moreover,  the  entire  or  even  partial  inspiration  of  the  various 
writings  comprehended  in  the  Old  Testament,  has  been,  and  is 
doubted  by  many  persons,  including  learned  divines  and  distinguished 
oriental  and  biblical  scholars.  .  .  .  To  the  grotmds  of  doubt  respect- 
ing inspiration,  which  arise  from  the  examination  of  various  narra- 
tives, from  knowledge  of  the  original  and  other  oriental  languages, 
and  from  the  irreconcilable  opposition  between  the  passions  and  sen- 
timents ascribed  to  the  Deity  by  Moses,  and  that  religion  of  peace 
and  love  unfolded  by  the  Evangelists,  I  have  only  to  add,  that  the 
representations  of  all  the  animals  being  brought  before  Adam  in  the 
first  instance,  and  subsecjuently,  of  their  being  all  collected  in  the 
ark,  if  we  are  to  understand  them  as  being  applied  to  the  living  in- 
habitants of  the  whole  world,  are  zoologically  impossible."  The  first 
assertion  in  this  quotation  is  supported  in  a  note,  by  citing  the  passa- 
ges where  it  is  said,  "God  created  man,  male  and  female,"  and 
again,  (chap,  v.)  "  in  the  day  that  God  created  man,  male  and  fe- 
male he  created  them."  These  passages  its  author  supposes  to 
refer  to  a  different  creation  from  that  of  Eve.*  I  am  sorry  to  offer 
any  comment  upon  this  passage,  because  the  author,  I  am  sure,  no 
longer  holds  the  opinions  he  here  incautiously  expressed.  But  the 
value  of  the  work  itself,  as  a  great  collection  of  important  facts,  con- 
nected together  by  very  learned  observations,  will  continue  to  give  it 
weight,  and  ensure  it  the  perusal  of  the  young.  And  therefore  I  will 
venture  to  make  a  few  remarks  upon  the  theological  portion  of  the 


*  Lectures  on  Physiologv,  Zoology,  and  the  Natural  History  of  Man. 
Lond.  J  819,  y.  248. 


94  LECTURE    THE    THIRD. 

argument.  The  author's  conclusions  from  the  investigation  of  the 
science  are  perfectly  in  accordance  with  the  inspired  narrative,  and 
therefore  it  is  doubly  a  pity  that  he  should  have  gone  out  of  his  way 
to  show  that  the  contrary  opinion  might  be  held,  for  any  thing  which 
the  Scriptures  teach.  It  was  not,  perhaps,  to  be  expected  from  him, 
that  he  should  be  acquainted  with  the  labors  of  theologians,  but  the 
appeal  to  them  warrants  us  in  looking  into  their  opinions.  Now, 
taking  one  of  the  rashest  and  boldest  interpreters  that  modern  Ger- 
many has  produced,  we  should  find  even  him  vindicating  the  differ- 
ent texts  quoted  by  our  author  from  all  charge  of  contradiction.  I 
allude  to  Eichhorn,  who,  upon  grounds  solely  philological,  seems  to 
have  satisfactorily  proved,  what  Astruc  had  conjectured  in  the  last 
century,  that  the  book  of  Genesis  is  composed  of  several  distinct 
documents,  which  Moses  has  plainly  incorporated  into  his  work, 
clearly  distinguishable,  not  only  by  their  definite  and  complete  form, 
but  by  the  use  of  peculiar  words,  as,  for  instance,  the  word  Jehovah, 
which  is  totally  absent  from  one,  and  invariably  found  in  another. 
Thus  the  first  chapter,  where  we  are  told  that  "  God  created  man, 
male  and  female,"  without  giving  the  details  of  this  creation,  always 
calls  the  Almighty  by  the  name  Elohim,  or  simply  God.  But  the 
fourth  verse  of  the  second  chapter  begins,  manifestly,  anew  narrative 
or  document,  having  a  particular  title :  "  These  are  the  generations 
of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,"  in  other  words,  "  this  is  the  history  of 
the  creation  of  heaven  and  earth,"*  entering  into  the  details  of  para- 
dise and  man's  creation,  and  distinguishable  throughout  by  the  con- 
stant use  of  the  title  Jehovah,  till  its  end  with  the  fourth  chapter. 
In  the  fifth,  we  have  the  return  of  the  same  document  given  in  the 
first,  or  else  another,  in  which  Jehovah  is  not  used,  and  where  again 
man  is  said  to  have  been  created  male  and  female.  Now,  this  being 
the  hypothesis  or  system  of  the  most  "  learned  divine,"  who  rejects 
inspiration,  this  divine  thereby  no  less  overthrows  the  scriptural  de- 
duction of  a  second  creation  of  man,  besides  that  of  Adam.  For  the 
texts  quoted  are  shown  to  be  only  different  descriptions  of  the  same 
event.  With  the  other  objections  drawn  against  inspiration,  from 
the  "  examination  of  the  various  narratives,  from  the  knowledge  of 
the  original  and  other  oriental  languages,  and  from  the  irreconcilable 

*  All  who  are  conversant  in  scriptnr.il  science,  are  aware  of  the 
correspondence  of  tliese  two  expressions, — histories  being  called  gene- 
alogies, from  their  being  prefaced  by  such  documents.  See  Gen.  6:  9, 
and  Matt.  6:1. 


i 


NATURAL   HISTORY  OF   MAN.  95 

opposition"  between  the  God  of  Moses  and  the  christian  religion,  it 
would  be  out  of  place  now  to  engage  ;  and  it  is  not,  perhaps,  very 
clear  in  what  sense  the  learned  writer's  words  are  to  be  taken. 
Having  been  at  some  pains  to  make  myself  acquainted  with  "  the 
original  and  other  oriental  languages,"  any  ways  applicablejo  the 
study  of  Scripture,  I  have  not  discovered  that  any  "  grounds  of  doubt 
respecting  inspiration,"  have  arisen  from  this  knowledge.  But  pass 
we  on  to  more  pleasant  occupation. 

The  more  marked  divisions  of  the  human  race  are  so  striking  to 
the  eye,  that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  escape  the  notice  of  the 
ancients.  No  one,  for  instance,  could  avoid  being  struck  with  the 
difference  in  features,  color,  and  hair,  between  the  European  and  the 
negro.  Aristotle  appears  to  have  recorded  the  classification  preva- 
lent in  earlier  and  in  his  own  times,  when  he  tells  us,  that  the  older 
physiognomists  decided  of  a  person's  character  by  the  resemblance 
of  his  features  to  "  those  nations  who  differ  in  appearance  and  man- 
ners, as  the  Egyptians,  Thracians,  and  Scythians."*  As  these  races, 
or  rather,  their  characteristics,  must  be  considered  as  compared  to 
another,  from  which,  as  from  a  type  or  standard,  they  variously  differ, 
which  doubtless  was  the  Grecian  form,  we  have  here  a  division  of 
mankind  into  four  distinct  classes,  or  races,  as  we  now  call  them. 
No  attempt,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  has  been  made  to  investigate  this 
point  more  minutely,  and  yet  it  is  not  without  its  importance.  For 
besides  thus  giving  the  very  foundation  or  first  step  in  the  history  of 
a  science,  every  day  growing  in  interest  and  importance,  we  may, 
perhaps,  gather  some  facts  useful  toward  examining  the  changes 
which  time  has  introduced  into  the  nations  now  occupying  particular 
tracts  of  country  ;  and  for  these  reasons,  even  at  the  risk  of  devi- 
ating, for  a  moment,  from  the  popular  form  I  wish  to  preserve  in 
these  lectures,  I  will  enter  at  some  length  into  the  discussion. 

The  first  race,  or  distinctly  characterized  class  of  men,  which 
Aristotle,  after  the  older  physiognomists,  here  mentions,  is  the  Egyp- 
tian. By  this  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  means  the  negro  race  ; 
for,  besides  the  impossibility  of  his  omitting  this  in  speaking  of  the 
varieties  of  the  human  species,  in  another  place  he  clearly  confounds 
the  two ;  saying,  "  that  persons  who  are  very  dark  are  also  timid, 


*  JidofifvoL  xara  la  I'&vr],  oaa  Sticps^s  tctg  oifjug,  xal  xa  i/^r],  oioy 
Aiyvmoi,  xal  Oguxeg,  xal  ^xv^ai. — Physiognomic,  cap.  i.  Opp  Par 
1619,  torn.  i.  p.  1169. 


96  LKCTURE    THE    THIRD. 

being  referred  to  the  Egyptian  and  Ethiopian  race."*  Again,  on 
another  occasion,  he  asks  the  question,  why  the  Egyptians  and  Ethi- 
opians have  crooked  legs,  and  distorted  feet  ?  to  which  he  answers, 
that  this  arises  probably  from  the  same  cause  as  gives  them  both 
woolly  hair, — that  is,  the  heat  of  their  climate.f 

Here  then  arises  a  complicated  and  interesting  inquiry;  were 
the  ancient  Egyptians  really  so  formed  on  the  negro  type,  that  the 
two  could  be  confounded  together  ?  The  testimony  of  Aristotle  is 
undoubtedly  strong  in  favor  of  the  affirmative,  and  becomes  doubly 
so  from  the  agreement  of  almost  all  the  classics,  especially  that  of  the 
sagacious  and  accurate  Herodotus.  For,  speaking  of  the  Colchi,  he 
says  they  are  proved  to  be  descendants  of  the  Egyptians,  vie  fAfkuy- 
yi^QOtg  ilol  nul  ov).6i(^i'j[ic,\  "because  they  are  black  and  woolly- 
headed."  Here,  as  in  the  philosopher,  we  have  the  two  most  definite 
characteristics  of  the  negro  race  attributed  to  the  Egyptians.  • 

Blumenbach,  whose  name  I  shall  often  have  to  mention  with 
praise,  has  manifestly  a  favorite  theory  regarding  the  physiognomy  of 
the  Egyptians.  In  his  invaluable  "  Decads  of  Skulls,"  he  first  hint- 
ed that  it  is  impossible  to  suppose,  during  so  many  ages  of  embalm- 
ing, no  variety  in  the  national  type  §  In  1808,  he  more  clearly  ex- 
pressed his  opinion,  that  monuments  prove  the  existence  of  three  dis- 
tinct forms  or  physiognomies  among  the  ancient  inhabitants  of 
EgyP'^-ll  Three  years  later  he  entered  more  fully  into  this  inquiry, 
and  gave  the  monuments  which,  he  thought,  bore  him  out  in  his  hy- 
pothesis. The  first  of  these  he  considers  to  approach  to  the  negro 
model,  the  second  to  the  Hindoo,  the  third  to  the  Berber,  or  ordina- 
ry Egyptian  head.^  But  I  think  an  unprejudiced  observer  will  not 
easily  follow  him  so  far.     The  first  head  has  nothing  in  common  with 

*  Ol  ixyav  fisXavig  deiXol'  avoKpionuL  inl  toi'c  Aiyvmlovg,  y.ul  Al&i- 
onag. — lb.  cap.  vi.  p.  1180. 

f  /liu  tI  ol  Alr&ioTifg  x«»  ol  Aiyvmiot  pXaudiol  tlorlv  ;  .  .  .  Stjloixn  di 
xnl  ai  r^lx^g  '  ovXoTfQug  yctg  txovaiv. —  rrolilem.  Sec.  .\iv.  4,  torn.  ii. 
p.  750. 

\  Lih.  ii.  §  civ.  torn.  i.  |i.  157,  cd.  Lond.  1824. 

§  Decas  collectioiiis  siise  cr.iDioriim  diversoruin  gontiutn  illiistrata. 
—  GiJtling.  1790,  p.  14. 

II  Specimen  liistoriie  uaturalis  iuiliqiiao  arils  r);)erihiis  illustratae. — 
Ih.  1808.  p.  11. 

H  Beitrjij^o  zur  Nalurgocirnlite.  liter  Th.  /ft.  181],  Dreyerley 
National  physioiiomie  unier  deii  alien  ^Egyptern,  p.  130. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN.  97 

the  black  race,  but  is  only  a  coarser  tepreseutation  of  the  Egyptian 
type  ;  the  second  is  but  its  mythological  or  ideal  purification.  To 
make  out  this  system  Iroin  monuments,  two  things  appear  wanting  ; 
first,  that  instead  of  single  representations,  which  may  be  called  only 
sporadic  or  casual,  classes  of  monuments  should  have  been  pointed 
out,  wherein  the  different  characters  are  preserved  ;  for  occasional 
deviations  from  the  ordinary  course  are  to  be  found  in  every  law  ; 
secondly,  that  some  chronological  relation  be  established  between  the 
different  classes,  so  to  prove  that  the  change  which  he  supposes,  oc- 
curred at  different  epochs  in  the  national  features.  Neither  of  these 
points,  however,  has  been  attempted. 

All  the  remains  of  the  Egyptians  oppose  the  statements  of  the 
classics  I  have  quoted.  For  as  to  their  color  and  hair,  nothing  can 
be  more  clearly  represented  than  they  are  on  their  monuments.  We 
always  see  the  bodies  of  the  natives  painted  of  a  red  or  tawny  color, 
with  long  flowing  hair,  where  the  head-dress  allows  it  to  be  seen  ; 
while  we  often  see  the  negroes  represented  beside  them,  by  a  jet 
black  color,  frizzled  hair,  and  perfect  negro  features,  precisely  as 
they  really  are  at  the  present  day.*  But  we  have  still  more  precious 
monuments  than  these  painted  representations,  in  the  very  mummies 
themselves,  the  skulls  of  which,  as  Mr.  Lawrence  observes,  invariably 
have  the  European  form,  without  a  trace  of  the  negro  shape. t  And 
as  to  the  hair,  we  may  give,  for  a  general  description,  the  account 
given  by  M.  Villoteau  of  the  hair  of  a  mummy  opened  under  his  di- 
rection :  "  Les  cheveux  etaient  noirs  ....  bien  plantes,  longs,  et 
divises  en  nattes  retrousses  sur  la  tete."J 

It  is  not  easy  to  reconcile  the  conflicting  results  thus  obtained 
from  writers  and  from  monuments,  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  learned 
men  should  have  differed  widely  in  opinion  on  the  subject.  I  should 
think  the  best  solution  is,  that  Egypt  was  the  country  where  the 
Greeks  most  easily  saw  the  inhabitants  of  interior  Africa,  many  of 
whom  doubtless  flocked  thither  and  were  settled  there,  or  served  in 
the  army  as  tributaries  or  provincials,  as  they  have  done  in  later 
times  ;  and  thus,  they  came  to  be  confounded  by  writers  with  the 
country  where  alone  they  knew  them,  and  were  considered  a  part  of 
the  indigenous  population.     Some  such   hypothesis  mu.st  be  adopted 


*  See  the   colored   plaies  in  Hoskitis's  Travels  in  Ethiopia. 

t  Lectures,  p.  345. 

I   Ap.  De   Sacv,    Rpl;ilion   de    I'E^fyple,    fiar    Ahd- Allatif.  —  Pam, 

1810,  p.  ytjy. 

13 


98  LECTURE    THE    THIRD. 

to  reconcile  writers  among  themselves  :  for  Ammianus  Marcellinus 
writes  that  the  Egyptians  were  only  dark  and  blackish,  "  homines 
iEgyptii  plerumque  subfusculi  sunt  et  atrati."*  Thus  much,  how- 
ever, is  perfectly  certain,  that  by  the  Egyptian  variety  which  he 
places  first  among  those  of  the  human  species,  Aristotle  means  the 
black  or  negro  race. 

The  next  upon  his  list  are  the  Scythians  ;  and  Hippocrates  in 
like  manner  mentions  them  as  possessing  characteristics  common  to 
all  their  tribes  except  one,  no  less  marked  and  distinctive  on  the  one 
side,  than  those  of  the  Egyptians  on  the  other.t  Though  ancient 
Scythia  occupied  the  country  now  in  great  measure  peopled  by 
tribes  belonging  to  what  is  called  the  Mongul  race,  whom  the  ancient 
Scythians  greatly  resembled  in  the  nomadic  form  of  their  lives,  we 
cannot  for  a  moment  suppose  that  a  tawny  or  olive-colored  race 
would  be  placed  by  writers  like  Aristotle  and  Hippocrates,  as  the 
variety  contrasting  with  the  Greek  in  an  opposite  direction  from  the 
negro.  There  can  be  no  doubt  but  the  Scythians  mentioned  by 
Aristotle,  in  his  classification  of  the  human  races,  were  the  Germanic 
tribes,  which  were  found  scattered  over  the  whole  of  Scythia.  This 
country  as  described  by  Herodotus,  is  not  like  the  Scythia  of  Ptolemy, 
confined  to  northern  Asia,  but  also  comprehended  Dacia,  Moesia, 
and  all  the  country  north  of  Thrace. |  Now  there  can  be  no  ques- 
tion but  the  inhabitants  of  these  regions  were  Germanic  ;  for  besides 
their  representation  on  monuments,  the  descriptions  given  of  them 
by  Ovid  in  his  exile,  present  all  the  traits  of  the  ancient  Germans. 
Thus  their  hair  is  described  as  yellow  or  light-colored  : 

"  Hie  mea  cui  recitem  nisi  flavis  scripta  Corallis, 
Quas  que  alias  gentes  barbarus  Ister  habet."§ 

And  as  always  unshorn  : 

"Mixta  sit  hsec  (gens)  quamvis  inter  Graiosque  Getasque, 
A  male  pacatis  plus  trahit  ora  Getis, 


*  Lib.  xxii.  in  fine.  In  Scriptor.  Hist.  Rom. ;  Heidelb.  1743,  toitj.  ii. 
p.  518. 

f  On  nolv  anrjXXdxrai  tmv  Ioitimv  avd^qanav  to  Sxv&lkov  yivog,  xat 
toixiv  avio  etovisM,  wcttkq  to  Alyi'nxiov.  —  De  Aere,  Locis,  et  Aquis, 
ed.  Genev.  1657,  torn.  i.  p.  291. 

I  See  Lib.  iv.  §  xcix.  p.  327. 

§  Epist.  de  Ponto.  lib.  iv.  ep.  ii.  37.  The  Coralli  seem  to  be  con- 
founded with  the  Getae,  on  comparing  Ep.  viii.  83  with  x.  2.  A  fanci- 
ful etymologist  might  consider  them  as  the  ancestors  of  the  Kourilians. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN.  99 

V'ox  fera,  trux  vultus,  vorissima  Martis  itiiago, 
Not!  cotna,  noii  ulla  barba  resecta  nianu."* 

Ovid,  too,  it  need  scarcely  be  noted,  speaks  in  almost  every  page  of 
his  place  of  exile  as  Scythia. 

But  thus  far  we  hardly  needed  proof.  It  is  far  more  important  to 
note  that  Herodotus,  with  his  usual  accuracy,  has  clearly  distin- 
guished two  races  as  occupying  the  wide  regions  of  Asiatic  Scythia, 
—  the  Germanic,  according  to  the  ancient  classification,  and  the 
Mongul.  For,  he  tells  us,  that  above  the  Sarmatians,  and  conse- 
quently, as  Breiger  well  observes,  about  the  territory  of  Astrakan,  on 
the  Jaik,t  there  lived  a  tribe  called  the  Budini,  "  a  great  and  nume- 
rous nation,  with  eyes  exceedingly  blue,  and  led  hair."|  Here,  then, 
we  have  a  Scythian  tribe,  with  all  the  characteristics  attributed  by 
the  ancients  to  the  Germanic  nations. §  But,  in  another  place, 
Herodotus  describes  the  Agrippaei,  no  less  a  Scythian  people,  with 
very  different  traits.  "  They  are  said,"  he  writes,  "  to  be  bald  from 
their  birth,  both  males  and  females,  with  flat  noses  and  large  chins." |1 
Their  manners,  he  adds,  are  perfectly  harmless  and  innocent.  Now 
compare  these  marks  with  the  characteristics  of  the  Mongul  race, 
and  you  will  at  once  see  how  accurate  Herodotus  is,  and  how  cer- 
tainly the  same  race  of  nomads,  as  now,  partly  occupied  the  northern 
tracts  of  Asia  in  his  time.  Blumenbach  gives  us  the  following  dis- 
tinctives  of  the  Mongul  family  :  —  a  flat  nose,  Jiasus  simus,  corres- 
ponding to  the  aif.toi  of  Herodotus,  and  a  rather  prominent  chin, 
mentum  prominulum,  yiviiov  neyuXov.^  But  what  are  we  to  say  to 
the  baldness  from  birth  ?     Is  it  to  be  accounted  a  fable  ;  seeing  that 

*  Trist.  lib.  v.  eleg.  vii.  11.  Lucan  (lib.  i.)  speaking  of  a  German 
tribe,  says 

"  Et  vos  crinigeros  bellis  arcere  Chaycos." 

t  Cominentatio  de  Difficilioribus  quibusdam  Asise  Herodoteas.  Pre- 
fixed to  the  cited  edition,  p.  184. 

I  Bovdhoi  8s  tifvog  iov  fxiya  nal  nolXov,  yXavxov  ts  lcr%vgojg  iail  xal 
nvQ^ov.  —  LMelpoiii.  §  108.  toni,4.  p.  337.     Cf.  ^  21.  p.  292. 

§  See  then)  collected  by  Corringiu.s,  "  De  habitus  ror[)orum  Ger- 
manorum  aiitiqui  et  novi  causis,  liber  singularis."  —  Frankfort,  1727, 
with  a  voluminous  commentary  by  Burggraff,  p.  29 — 100. 

II  "Av&Qb)7ioi  Xfy6[itvoi  iivai  navrfq  cpaXaxgol  sx  ysveijg  yivo^ivoi,  x«t 
iQdsvfg  xttl  S^^ksai  ofioLojg,  xal  cnficu,  xat  yiveia  l];|foi'T£S  fieyaXa.  —  lb, 
§  33.  p.  293. 

II  De  generu?  humani  varietale  nativa.  —  Gotting.  1795,  p.  179. 


100  LECTURE    THE    TI1IR1>. 

the  judicious  father  of  profane  history,  whose  correctness  every  new 
research  confirms,  is  careful  to  qualify  his  assertion  by  an  expression 
of  doubt  ?  XfyoLiivoi,  he  says,  ihui  navng  cfalwAgot,  —  they  are 
s'lid  to  be  all  bald.  I  might  answer,  that  Blumenbach,  in  another 
place,  describing  the  hair  of  different  races,  gives  that  of  the  Mon- 
guls  as  ra7-us  —  thin,  or,  as  Virey  expresses  it,  clair  seme*  But  I 
think  this  difficulty  is  still  better  removed  by  what  Pallas  relates  of 
the  Calmucks  :  —  "  ils  rasent  la  tete  a  leurs  enfans  males,  des  la 
plus  tendre  enfance,"  and  again,  "  les  hommes  ont  tous  la  tete  rasee."t 
By  this  striking  custom  we  may  explain  how  Herodotus,  speaking  of 
the  Agrippaei,  should  often  call  them  by  no  other  name  than  the  bald 
people  —  cpukaxQoi  tovioh'^ 

This  mixture  of  tribes  probably  gave  rise  to  the  confusion  some- 
times observable  in  ancient  writers,  when  they  characterize  the 
Scythians  ;  for  they  blend  together  features  which  could  not  well 
have  belonged  to  one  race,  but  appear  taken  from  both  parts  of  the 
population.  Such,  at  least,  appears  to  be  the  case  in  the  two  princi- 
pal physiognomical  writers  of  antiquity,  Adamantius  and  Polemon. 
I  will  confine  myself  to  the  former,  as  the  latter  is  nothing  more  than 
his  transcriber.  Adamantius,  therefore,  who  professes  to  follow 
Aristotle,  like  him,  speaks  of  the  Scythians  and  Ethiopians  as  of  the 
extremes  of  the  human  race.§  Now,  in  another  place,  he  gives  us 
the  characteristics  of  nations  near  the  north,  and  of  those  under  the 
torrid  zone,  meaning  therefore,  probably,  those  whom  he  had  before 
designated  as  Scythians  and  Ethiopians.  Of  the  former  he  says  : 
"  Generally  speaking,  the  inhabitants  of  the  north  are  well-formed, 
xanthous,  fair,  with  soft  hair,  blue  eyes,  and  flat  noses,  have  thick 
legs,  loose  flesh,  and  large  paunches."  ||  It  is  evident  that  this 
description  in  great  part  applies  to  some  Germanic  nation,  with  the 


*  lb.  p,  166.  Virey,  Histoire  naturelle  dii  genre  hnmaiti.  Bruxell. 
1827,  vol.  i.  p.  41  J. 

f  Voyages  en  difFerentes  piovince.-;  de  i'Empire  dc  Rtissie,  Paris, 
1788,  toin.  i.  pp.  502,  503. 

\  Ul)i  Slip.  §§  24,  25.  p.  293,  seqq. 

§  "  riiysiopn."  I.  i.  "  Scri[)trirfs  Physiognoin.  Veteres,"  „iUenb. 
1780,  p.318.  "Poleinon,"  il).  173.  Adamanriiis,  however,  there  clearly 
distinguishes  the  Egyptian  from  tiie  Eiliiopeaii  leatiires. 

II  Slg  8b  nokii  ol  (Atv  inu  tji  tifjxTM  olxoivift;,  iv^n,y.iiq  nal,  ^uvOol, 
Xivnol  itxq  xofiag,  uTiukoTQi/fg,  yluvy.ot,  (Tifiot,  iKtyvaKhhlg,  nsQiJihj&ug 
auQxl  layaqu,  nQoyt'taiogti;.  —  L.  ii.  §  23.  p.  109.  In  my  translation,  I 
have   inserted  a  comma   after   Itvaol,   and   erased   it  after   xoixaq ;  first, 


NATURAL    HISTORV    OF    MAN. 


101 


exception  of  the  flat  nose,  loose  flesh,  and  obesity,  which  seem  to 
have  been  borrowed  from  the  description  of  some  Mongul  tribe  ; 
though  the  last  of  these  characteristics  could  only  apply  to  a  few,  as 
the  Kirghis  or  Bashkirs.* 

This  dispersion  of  Germanic  tribes  over  the  whole  of  Scythia, 
appears  to  me  a  very  interesting  fact  ;  and  after  having  thus  endea- 
vored to  trace  them  by  the  aid  of  Greek  writers,  it  was  a  great  satis- 
faction to  me  to  find  the  fact  confirmed  by  a  lamented  orientalist, 
from  sources  of  a  different  class.  "  How  much  soever  this  assertion 
may  appear  a  paradox,"  says  Abel-Remusat,  "  I  think  it  will  be 
proved  that  the  family  of  the  Gothic  nations  once  occupied  large 
tracts  of  Tartary,  that  some  of  its  branches  inhabited  Transoxana, 
and  even  reached  the  Altai  mountains  ;  and  that  they  were  well 
known  to  the  people  of  eastern  Asia,  who  could  not  fail  to  be  struck 
with  the  singularity  of  their  languages,  their  light  hair,  blue  eyes, 
and  white  complexions  ;  traits  particularly  remarkable  in  the  midst 
of  men  dark-colored,  and  with  brown  eyes  and  dark  hair,  who  have 
in  the  end  occupied  their  place.  When  1  shall  have  given  the  proofs 
I  have  collected,  it  will  be  seen  whether  my  assertion  is  too  rash."t 
These  proofs  he  did  not,  I  believe,  live  to  publish  ;  but  the  learned 
and  sagacious  Ritter  has  most  satisfactorily  unravelled  the  complica- 
ted history  of  the  population  of  central  Asia,  so  entangled  by  the 
confusion  of  names  transferred  from  one  nation  to  another.  He 
considers  tribes  of  the  Indo-European  or  Indo-Germanic  race,  to 
have  been  the  first  inhabitants  of  the  central  plateau  of  Asia,  who 
are  represented  by  all  Chinese  writers  as  having  red  hair  and  blue 
eyes.  In  the  second  century  before  Christ,  some  remains,  which 
had  been  driven  westward  by  the  Hiong-nu,  were  still  in  force  on 
the  shores  of  Lake  Bhalkush,  and  the  river  Hi,  under  the  name  of 
Ui-siun,  or  U-siun  ;  but  being  afterwards  weakened,  they  were  driven 
to  the  west  in  the  fourth  century,  and  probably  fell  into  the  stream 
of  northern  inundation,  then  beginning  to  move  towards  the  south. | 


because  otherwise  there  is  either  a  useless  repetition  or  a  contradiction 
as  to  the  color  of  the  h.'iir,  ah'eady  expressed  by  the  epithet  ^uv&ol  ; 
secondly,  because  in  the  corresponding  passage  of  Poieinon,  the  entire 
inemLier  xa?  —  ;A«rxoi  is  omitted,  as  he  say.*,  Afvxof,  atfiol,  etc.  Lib.  i. 
§  3.  p.  181. 

*   Pallas,  ii!ti  sup.  [>.  4:16. 

f   Recherches  siir  les  Laniruos  Tartares,  p.  45, 

I  Die  Erdkiinde  in  VerhaUniss  zur  Natur,  und  zur  Gescfiichte  des 
Menschen.  —  2  Th.  ii.   Buch.  Asion,    I  Band,   Bed.  183-3,  p.  431—435. 


102  LECTURE  THE  THIRO. 

But  what  I  wish  principally  to  conclude  from  this  long  '-dis- 
c|uiaition  is,  that  with  this  mixture  of  tribes  among  the  Scythians,  we 
cannot  doubt  but  that  it  was  the  Germanic  family  which  Aristotle 
and  Hippocrates  had  in  view,  when  they  described  the  Scythians  as 
differing  by  their  fairness  from  the  Greeks,  as  much  as  did  the  Ethi- 
opians by  their  dusky  hue.  And  in  fact,  the  Latin  writers,  to  whom 
the  Germans  were  more  familiarly  known  than  to  the  Greeks,  con- 
trast them  with  the  Ethiopians,  as  though  they  formed  the  two  oppo- 
site extremes  of  the  human  family.  "  The  color  of  the  Ethiopian," 
says  Seneca,  "  is  not  singular  among  his  countrymen,  nor  is  red  hair 
tied  up  in  a  knot  a  peculiarity  among  the  Germans."*  Martial  says, 
in  like  manner, 

"  Crinibus  in  nodum  toriis  venere  Sicambri, 
Aique  aliter  tortis  crinibus  JEthiopes."! 

The  third  race  of  men  enumerated  by  Aristotle,  consists  of  the 
Thracians.  It  is,  I  think,  still  more  difficult  to  decide  whom  he  means 
to  characterize  by  this  name  ;  though  it  is  evident  that  he  must  mean 
a  nation  having  peculiar  distinctives  in  color  and  feature,  sufficient 
to  mark  them  when  mixed  with  the  other  races  he  has  described. 
This  would  naturally  lead  us  to  conjecture,  that  in  his  classification 
they  correspond  to  the  olive  or  Mongul  race,  the  only  one  wherewith 
he  must  have  been  acquainted,  that  finds  no  place  in  his  enumera- 
tion. In  this  conjecture  I  feel  confirmed  by  the  following  consider- 
ations. 

First,  as  Aristotle  is  guided  chiefly  by  color,  in  his  distribution  of 
mankind  into  races,  and  the  two  classes  which  we  have  examined 
give  us  the  extremes,  this  must  represent  an  intermediate  color,  dif- 
fering however  from  the  Grecian  complexion.  But  there  is  a  passage 
in  Julius  Firmicus,  overlooked  by  the  commentators  of  Aristotle, 
which  gives  us  the  same  ternary  division,  with  the  colors  of  each 
race.  "  In  the  first  place,  "  he  writes,  "  speaking  of  the  characters 
and  colors  of  men,  they  agree  in  saying  :  if  by  the  mixed  influence 
of  the  stars  the  characters  and  complexions  of  men  are  distributed  ; 
and  if  the  course  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  by  a  certain  kind  of  artful 
painting,  form  the  lineaments  of  mortal  bodies ;  that  is,  if  the  moon 
makes  men  white,  Mars  red,  and  Saturn  black,  how  comes  it  that  in 


*  De  Ira,  L.  iii.  c.  xxvi.  f  Spectacul.  lib.  Epig.  ill. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN.  103 

Ethiopia  all  are  born  black,  in  Germany  white,  and  in  Thrace  red!"* 
By  this  it  would  appear  that  the  copper  or  olive  color  was  the  char- 
acteristic of  the  Thracian  family,  and  consequently  that  it  corres- 
ponded to  what  we  now  should  call  the  Mongul  race. 

Secondly,  Homer  has  described  the  Thracians  as  u}(()6y.oi.ioi, for 
as  having  their  hair  only  on  the  crown  of  the  head.  This  seems  op- 
posed to  the  description  given  us  of  the  Grecian  or  Germanic  fashion 
which  rather  cherished  an  abundant  growth  of  hair,  but  is  a  very 
striking  characteristic  of  the  Kalmuck  costume,  wherein,  as  in  that 
of  many  other  Mongul  nations,  the  head  is  shaved,  and  only  a  tuft  or 
tress  of  hair  is  left  on  the  crown. | 

Thirdly,  we  may  strengthen  this  conjecture  from  another  passage 
in  Aristotle,  where  he  observes  that  one  nation  among  the  Thracians 
is  so  rude,  as  not  to  go,  in  their  arithmetic,  beyond  the  number 
four.§  Upon  this  assertion,  besides  deducing  therefrom  that  the 
Thracians  were  not  one  nation,  but  a  collection  of  tribes,  I  will  re- 
mark, that  a  similar  ignorance  is  said  to  have  been  discovered  among 
people  of  the  Mongul  race,  as  for  example  the  Kamstchatkadales. 
Indeed  it  is  difficult  to  suppose  that  Pelasgic  or  Germanic  tribes, 
who  are  proved  by  the  conformity  of  their  numerals  with  those  of 
southern  Asia,  to  have  separated  from  them  after  that  system  had 
been  framed,  and  a  certain  civilization  prevailed,  should  have  fallen 
into  such  a  state  of  miserable  barbarism. 

I  might  add  other  reflections,  such  as  the  prevalence  of  shamanism 
in  the  religion  of  Thessaly,  and  the  origin  of  horsemanship,  attri- 
buted in  fable  to  the  same  country,  both  points  indicating  a  relation- 
ship between  the  race  now  occupying  northern  and  central  Asia. 
Nor  need  I  observe  that  the  boundaries  with  that  country  and 
Thrace  are  so  badly  defined,  as  often  to  be  neglected  or  overlooked 
by  ancient  writers.     Probably,  therefore  mixed  with  the  population 


*  Primum  itaque  de  moribus  hominum  coloribusque  conveiiiunt, 
dicentes;  Si  stellarum  mixturis  mores  hominibus,  coloresque  distribun- 
tur,  et  quasi  quodam  picturse  genera,  atque  artificio,  stellarum  cursus 
mortalium  corporum  lineamenta  componuiit;  hoc  est  si  J)  fecit  candi- 
dos,  S'  rubros,  hnigros;  cur  omnes  in  ^Ethiopia  nigri,  in  Germania 
candid),  in  Thracia  rubri  procreantur. — Astronomicou.  lib.  i.  c.  i.  ed. 
Basil,  1551,  p.  3. 

f  Iliad.  J.  533.  I  Pallas,  ubi  sup.  p.  502. 

§  Problem,  sec.  xv.  3,  torn.  ii.  p.  753. 


104  LECTURE    THE    THIRD. 

of  Thrace,  were  wandering  tribes  of  the  olive  or  copper  colored  race, 
whom  Aristotle  and  Julius  Firinicas  justly  placed  in  a  distinct  class. 
•  But  assuredly  I  have  dwelt  two  long  upon  this  early  period  in  the 
history  of  our  science,  led  away  by  the  unfrecjuented  state  of  the  path 
T  have  pursued.  Nor  dare  I  tiatter  myself  that,  in  this  instance  at 
least,  I  have  verified  the  poet's  opinion  : 

T«  (xny.Qu  TcSv  a/Aiy.Qwv  loycuv 


For  many  ages  the  same  obvious  classification  of  mankind,  formed 
upon  the  prevalent  complexion  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  was 
followed  without  much  discrimination,  so  that  the  human  race  might 
be  considered  as  divided,  like  the  earth  which  it  inhabited,  into  three 
classes  or  zones  :  the  very  white  occupying  the  colder  regions,  the 
black  possessing  the  torrid,  and  the  fair  the  temperate  region.  Such, 
for  instance,  is  the  division  adopted  by  the  Arabic  historian  Abul- 
pharaj.f  In  the  last  century,  this  simple  arrangement  was  modified 
till  it  assumed  the  form  of  a  complicated  system,  in  consequence  of 
the  discovery  of  many  intermediate  shades  in  the  color  of  nations, 
not  easily  to  be  introduced  into  that  threefold  division.  Leibnitz, 
Linnaeus,  Buffon,  Kant,  Hunter,  Zimmerman,  Meiners,  Kliigel  and 
others,  proposed  different  classifications  based  upon  the  same  princi- 
ple, which,  as  this  is  now  universally  rejected,  possess  but  little  inter- 
est, and  are  not  easy  to  remember. 

The  first  who  proposed  a  new  basis  for  this  important  study,  was 
Governor  Pownall,  who,  though  he  adopted  color  as  the  ground  of 
his  classification,  yet  suggested  the  propriety  of  attending  to  the  form 
of  the  skull  in  the  various  families  of  mankind.  J  But  Camper  has 
the  merit  of  having  first  devLsed  a  rule  by  which  the  heads  of  different 
nations  might  be  mutually  compared,  so  as  to  give  definite  and  char- 
acteristic results. 

Camper  enjoyed  peculiar  advantages  for  this  undertaking,  from 
having  united  two  sciences  not  often  pursued  by  the  same  individual, 
— a  perfect  and  practical  knowledge  of  art,  and  an  extensive  ac- 
quaintance with  physiology  and  comparative  anatomy.     It  was  see- 


*  Eurip.  Orest.  640.  f  Historia  Dynastianim,  Ofx.  1663,  p  3. 

\  New  collection  of  Voyages,  Lond.  17(37,  vol.  ii.  p.  273. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN.  105 

ing  how  imperfectly  the  best  artists,  whom  he  copied,  had  caught  the 
features  and  form  of  the  negro,  that  led  him  to  examine  the  essential 
peculiarities  of  his  configuration.*  He  then  extended  his  researches 
to  the  heads  of  other  nations,  and  discovered,  as  he  supposed,  a  ca- 
non or  rule  by  which  they  might  be  measured,  with  certain  and  regular 
results.  This  rule  consists  in  what  he  calls  the  facial  line,  and  is 
applied  as  follows.  The  skull  is  viewed  in  profile,  and  first  a  line  is 
drawn  from  the  entrance  of  the  ear  (the  meatus  auditorius)  to  the 
base  of  the  nostrils  ;  then  a  second,  from  the  most  prominent  point  of 
the  forehead  to  the  extreme  border  of  the  upper  jaw,  where  the  teeth 
are  rooted  (the  alveolar  process  of  the  superior  maxillary  bone.)  It 
is  evident  that  an  angle  will  be  formed  at  the  intersection  of  these 
two  lines,  and  the  measure  of  that  angle,  or,  in  other  words,  the  in- 
clination of  the  line  from  the  brow  to  the  jaw,  gives  what  is  called 
the  facial  line,  and  forms  in  Camper's  system  the  specific  character- 
istic of  each  human  family. t  By  inspecting  the  drawings  (PI.  1) 
you  will  easily  perceive  the  application  of  this  rule.  From  them  it 
appears  that  the  facial  angle,  in  the  baboon  nearest  approaching  the 
human  shape,  is  of  about  58  degrees  (fig.  1) ;  that  in  the  negro  and 
Kalmuck  it  measures  70°,  (fig.  2) ;  and  in  the  European  80°,  (fig.  3); 
The  ancients,  who  doubtless  perceived  the  increase  of  the  angle  in 
proportion  to  the  advance  in  the  intellectual  scale,  went  beyond  the 
line  found  in  nature,  and  in  their  sublimer  works  have  ventured  to 
give  an  overhanging  swelling  prominence  to  the  forehead,  which  in- 
creases the  facial  angle  to  95°  or  even  100°. |  This  fact  Blumen- 
bach  has  very  positively  denied,  saying  that  all  those  representations 
of  ancient  art  which  give  such  an  angle,  are  not  correct  copies. § 
But  I  think  whoever  will  examine  the  heads  of  Jupiter  in  the  Vati- 
can Museum,  particularly  the  bust  in  the  large  circular  hall,  or  the 
more  defaced  heads  of  the  Elgin  marbles,  will  be  satisfied  that  Cam- 
per is  accurate  in  this  respect. 


*  "Dissertation  physique  de  M.  Pierre  Camper  sur  les  Differences 
reelles  que  presentent  les  traits  du  visage  chez  les  hommes  de  difT^r- 
eiis  pays,"  etc. —  Ulrecht,  1791,  p.  3. 

t  lb.  p.  35. 

I  See  Catnper's  second  plate,  figures  3  and  4,  and  pp.  42  and  45. 
Roman  art  has  the  smaller,  Grecian  the  larger  of  these  two  angles. 

§  Specimen  historite  naturalis  anticjuje  artis  operibus  illustratse. 
GiiUivg.  1808,  p.  13. 

14 


lOG  I.FXTURK    THE    THIRD. 

To  the  system  of  ineasurement  proposed  by  him,  Blumenbach 
has  brought  more  serious  objections.  He  observes  that  even  Cam- 
per himself  admits  a  great  vagueness  in  fixing  the  origin  of  his  lines  : 
but  principally  he  objects  that  it  is  a  measurement  totally  inapplica- 
ble to  those  races  or  families  whose  most  marked  distinctive  consists 
in  the  breadth  of  the  skull  rather  than  in  the  projection  of  its  upper 
portion.* 

It  is  to  this  sagacious  and  assiduous  physiologist  that  we  owe  the 
system  of  classification  now  almost  universally  followed,  and  the  prin- 
ciples by  which  it  is  conducted.  His  museum  contains  the  most 
complete  collection  in  existence  of  skulls  belonging  to  members  of 
almost  every  nation  on  the  globe.  Not  content  with  the  results  given 
him  by  their  study,  he  has  collected  from  every  branch  of  natural 
science,  and  from  every  department  of  literature,  whatever  can  throw 
light  upon  ihe  history  of  the  human  race,  and  account  for  the  varie- 
ties it  contains.  His  works  are,  in  fact,  a  store-house  from  which  all 
must  draw,  and  the  most  voluminous  works  upon  this  study  which 
have  appeared  since  his  time,  have  done,  and  can  do,  little  more 
than  confirm  by  additional  evidence,  what  he  had  already  proved. 

Blumenbach's  classification  is  determined  primarily  by  the  form 
of  the  cranium,  and  secondarily,  by  the  color  of  the  hair,  skin  and 
iris. 

It  may  at  first  appear  to  you  that  an  acquaintance  with  the  anat- 
omy or  construction  of  the  skull  is  necessary  for  rightly  comprehend- 
ing his  system.  This  however  is  not  the  case  ;  for  a  very  few  ob- 
servations with  a  drawing  before  us,  will  soon  convey  all  the  infor- 
mation necessary  on  this  subject.  You  have  only  to  pay  attention  to 
the  following  particulars.  The  head  or  skull,  when  viewed  from 
above,  presents  more  or  less  an  oval  form,  smoothly  rounded  at  the 
back,  but  rough  and  less  regular  in  front,  in  consequence  of  the 
bones  of  the  face.  If  we  examine  these,  we  shall  see  that  they  pro- 
ject in  different  degrees,  and  may  be  divided  into  three  portions  ; 
first,  the  forehead,  which  may  be  more  or  less  depressed,  then  the 
bones  of  the  nose,  and  below  these  the  jaws  with  their  respective 
teeth.  Particular  attention,  too,  must  be  paid  to  the  manner  in  which 
the  malar,  or  cheek-bones,  are  connected  with  the  temporal,  or  bones 
at  the  ears,  by  means  of  an  arch  called  the  zygoma,  so  formed  as  to 

*  "De  generis  humani  varietate  nativa," — GiilL  1795,  p.  200. 


NATUKAL    HISTORY    Of    MAN.  107 

allow  Strong  muscles  to  pass  under  it,  and  to  be  fixed  to  the  lower 
jaw.    (See  fig.  5.) 

Now  BJumenbach's  rule  consists  precisely  in  viewing  th.e  skull  as 
I  have  described  it,  and  attending  to  the  particulars  I  have  men- 
tioned. He  places  it  in  its  natural  position  upon  a  table,  and  then 
looks  upon  it  ft-om  above  and  behind,  and  the  relative  forms  and  pro- 
portions of  the  parts  thus  visible,  give  him  what  he  calls  the  vertical 
rule,  or  norma  verticalis.  Following  this,  he  divides  the  entire  hu- 
man race  into  three  principal  families,  with  two  intermediate  ones. 
The  three  leading  divisions  he  calls  the  Caucasian,  or  central  ;  sec- 
ondly, the  Ethiopian ;  and  thirdly,  the  Mongul,  or  two  extreme  vari- 
eties. By  inspecting  the  drawings  made  from  his  works,  you  will  in- 
stantly perceive  their  characteristic  differences.  In  the  Caucasian, 
or,  as  others  have  called  it,  the  Circassian  variety,  (fig.  4)  the  gen- 
eral form  of  the  skull  is  more  symmetrical,  and  the  zygomatic  arches 
enter  into  the  general  outline,  and  the  cheek  and  jaw-liones  are  con- 
cealed entirely  by  the  greater  prominence  of  the  forehead.  From 
this  type  the  other  two  depart  in  opposite  directions,  the  negro  by  its 
greater  length  and  narrowness,  the  Mongul  by  its  e.xcessive  breadth. 
In  the  negro's  skull,  (fig.  5)  you  see  the  remarkable  lateral  compres- 
sion of  the  fore  part  of  the  skull,  by  which  the  arches  aforesaid, 
though  themselves  much  flattened,  yet  come  to  protrude  much  beyond 
it ;  and  you  will  observe  that  the  lower  part  of  the  face  comes  for- 
ward so  much  beyond  the  upper,  that  not  only  the  cheek  bones,  but 
the  whole  of  the  jaw,  and  even  the  teeth,  are  visible  from  above. 
The  general  surface  of  the  skull  is  also  remarkably  elongated  and 
compressed. 

The  Mongul  cranium  is  distinguished  by  the  extraordinary 
breadth  of  its  front,  in  which  the  zygomatic  arch  is  completely  de- 
tached from  the  general  circumference  ;  not  so  mucli  as  in  the  ne- 
gro, on  account  of  any  depression  in  this,  as  from  the  enormous  lat- 
eral prominence  of  the  cheek-bones  ;  which,  being  at  the  same  time 
flat,  give  the  peculiar  expression  of  the  Mongul  face.  The  forehead, 
too,  is  much  depressed,  and  the  upper  jaw  protuberant,  so  as  to  be 
visible  when  viewed  in  the  vertical  direction.    (Fig.  6.) 

Between  the  Caucasian  variety  and  each  of  the  two  others,  is  an 
intermediate  class,  possessing,  to  a  certain  degree,  the  distinctives 
of  the  extremes,  and  forming  a  transition  from  the  centre  to  them. 
That  between  the  Caucasian  and  negro  families  is  the  Malay  ;  the 
link  between  the  former  and  the  Mongul  is  the  American  variety. 


lOB  LECTURE    THE    THIRD. 

Besides  this  great  and  primary  characteristic,  there  are  otliers  of 
a  secondary,  though  not  less  distinguishable,  nature  :  they  consist  in 
the  complexion,  hair  and  eyes,  of  the  different  races.  The  three 
principal  families  are  distinguished  by  as  many  different  colors  :  the 
Caucasian  by  white,  the  negro  by  black,  and  the  Mongul  by  the 
olive  or  yellow  complexion  :  the  intermediate  races  have  also  inter- 
mediate hues,  the  Americans  being  copper-colored,  and  the  Malays 
tawny. 

The  color  of  the  hair  and  of  the  iris  follows  that  of  the  skin  in  a 
sufficiently  obvious  manner.  Even  in  the  fair  or  Caucasian  race,  to 
which  we  belong,  persons  with  very  fair  or  ruddy  complexions  have 
always  the  hair  red,  or  light-colored,  and  the  eyes  blue  or  of  a  light 
shade ;  and  this  has  been  called  the  zanthous  variety  of  the  white 
race.  In  persons  with  a  brown  skin,  the  hair  is  invariably  black, 
and  the  eye  darker,  and  these  are  called  the  mdanic  variety.  This 
conformity  of  color  in  these  different  parts  was  well  known  to  the  an- 
cients, who  observed  it  strictly  in  their  personal  descriptions.  Thus 
Ausonius  in  his  Idyll  on  Bissula,  who  belonged  to  the  first  class,  says 
of  her  : 


-Gerniana  maneret 


Ut  facies,  oculos  cserula,  flava  comis." 

And  in  another  fragment  he  gives  her  the  corresponding  complex- 
ion : 

Pumiceas  confunde  rosas,  et  lilia  njisce, 
Qiiique  erit  ex  iliis  color  aeris  ipse  sit  oris."* 

So  Horace  describes  a  youth  of  the  second  variety, — 

"  Et  Lycuni  nigrisoculis,  nij,M'0(jLio 
Crine  decorum. "f 

From  these  remarks  you  will  easily  understand,  that  in  both  the 
negro  and  Mongul  races,  in  which  the  skin  is  dark,  the  hair  will  be 
black  and  the  eye  dark.  The  hair,  too,  besides  its  color,  has  a  pe- 
culiar character  in  each  race  ;  in  the  white  race  it  is  flexible,  flowing, 
moderately  thick,  and  soft ;  in  the  negro,  very  thick-set,  strong, 
short  and  curly  ;  in  the  Mongul,  stiff',  thin,  and  straight. 

*  Idyll,  vii,  'J,  et  Fragiii.  annex.  \  Od.  lib.  i.  33. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN.  109 

In  every  one  of  these  races,  there  springs  up  occasionkally  a  varie- 
ty which  ought  to  be  mentioned,  and  which  appears,  in  the  human 
species  at  le"ast,  to  bear  a  morbid  character.     I  allude  to  aUrinos,  or 
persons  in  whom  the  skin  is  of  a  dazzling  whiteness,  with   hair  ex- 
cessively light,  and  almost  colorless,  and  red  eyes.     These,  too,  are 
peculiarly  sensitive,  and  can  bear  but  little  light,  so  that  albinos  are 
vulgarly  supposed  to  see  in  the  dark  ;  they  are,  also,  generally  very 
feeble  in  health  and  intellect.     They  are  to  be  found  in  every  coun- 
try ;  in  a  village  a  few  miles  distant  from  this  city  (Rome)  is  a  highly 
respectable  family,  in  which  several  of  the  children  belong  to  this 
class.     The  sagacious  Arabic  physician  AbdoUatiph,  mentions  one 
whom  he  saw  among  the  Copts,  as  a  natural   curiosity.*     Mr.  Craw- 
furd  throws  discredit  on    Sonnerat's  description  of  the  Papuans  of 
New  Guinea,  because  he  says  that  their  hair  is  of  a  brilliant  black,  or 
fiery  red.t     Sonnerat,  however,  seems  to  have  had  in  view  some 
albinos,  whose  hair,  among  the  blacks,  assumes  a  sandy  or  reddish 
color.     Even  in   Africa,   among  the  darkest  race,  they  are  far  from 
uncommon,  and  form,  of  course,  a  much  stronger  contrast,  by  their 
snowy  whiteness,  with  the  ebony  hue  of  their  neighbors.^ 

I  pass  over  many  other  minor  distinctives  of  these  human  races, 
such  as  the  direction  of  the  teeth,  the  stature  and  form  of  the  body : 
and  proceed  to  trace  for  you  the  geographical   limitations  of  each 

great  family. 

The  Caucasian  comprehends  all  the  nations  of  Europe,  excepting 
the  Laplanders,  Finlanders,  and  Hungarians ;  the  inhabitants  of 
Western  Asia,  including  Arabia,  Persia,  and  upwards  as  far  as  the 
river  Oby,  the  Caspian  Sea,  and  the  Ganges  ;  and  those  of  Northern 

Africa. 

The  negro  race  comprises  all  the  remaining  inhabitants  of  this 

last-named  quarter  of  the  globe. 

The  Mongul  race  embraces  all  the  nations  of  Asia  not  included 
in  the  Caucasian  or  Malayan  varieties,  and  takes  in  the  European 

^^A.nong  the  wonders  of  nature  of  this  time,  is  to  be  reckoned 
that  a  child  was  bom  with  white  hair  ;  which  did  not  resemble  the 
srreyness  of  old  ape,  but  rather  approached  to  a  red.  -De  Mu'abil. 
^gypii,  Oron.  1800,  p.  278. 

f  Ubi  sup.  p.  27. 

I  See  a  minute  description  of  a  white  negro  from  Senegal,  in  the 
^'Description  de  la  Nigritie,  par  M.  P.  D.  P."  Amst.  1789,  p.  60. 


110  LECTURE    THE    THIRD. 

tribes  excluded  by  the  former,  as  well  as  the  Esquimaux  in  North 
America. 

The  Malayan  embraces  the  natives  of  the  peninsula  of  Malacca, 
and  of  Australia  and  Polynesia,  distinguished  in  Ethnography  by  the 
name  of  the  Papuan  tribes. 

Finally,  the  American  includes  all  the  aborigines  of  the  new 
world,  excepting  the  Esquimaux. 

I  must  observe  that  considerable  confusion  and  perplexity  exists 
regarding  the  name  and  extent  of  what,  after  Blumenbach,  I  have 
called  the  '  Mongul  race.'  Blumenbach  gives  several  reasons  for  re- 
jecting the  old  name  of  '  Tartar,'  which  is,  however,  still  retained  by 
many  writers  on  the  subject.  It  is  not  easy,  indeed,  to  unravel  the 
genealogy  of  the  tribes  which  have  been  confusedly  called  by  the 
two  names,  nor  to  establish  the  limitations  of  the  different  races  into 
which  they  run.  I  will,  however,  try  to  explain  it  as  far  as  possible. 
The  Turks  are  often  called  Tartars,  and  the  invaders  of  Western 
Asia  under  Tschingis  Khan,  are  sometimes  called  Tartars,  and 
sometimes  Monguls.  The  Mantchous  are  equally  subject  to  vague 
classifications. 

Historically,  the  Turks,  Tartars,  and  Monguls,  are  perfectly  dis- 
tinct nations.  According  to  Ritter,  who  has,  certainly,  most  pro- 
foundly examined  all  questions  of  geographical  histoiy,  the  first  of 
these,  under  the  name  of  Hiong-nu,  occupied  all  the  north  of  China  ; 
they  separated  into  two  kingdoms  in  the  first  century,  disappeared 
from  history  in  the  fourth,  recovered  their  dominion  in  the  following, 
and  later,  were  swept  away  by  the  irresistible  power  of  Tschingis 
Khan,  and  so  received  the  name  of  Tartars,'  which  they  consider  a 
reproach.  The  Tartars,  or  Ta-ta,  as  they  are  called  by  Chinese 
historians,  and  Monguls,  were  also  distinct  nations,  or  rather,  per- 
haps, tribes  of  one  nation ;  their  own  origin  being,  according  to 
Abulghazi,*  from  two  brothers,  who  bore  those  names.  In  the 
eleventh  century  they  formed  two  of  four  tribes  settled  in  the  Inschan 
mountains,  near  the  Hoang-ho  river.  Tschingis  Khan,  being  born 
of  a  Mongul  father,  and  a  Tata  mother,  united  the  two,  and  gave  the 
united  nation  the  name  of  '  Monguls  ;'  but  his  chief  officers  and 
nobles  being  Tartars,  they  were  more  generally  known  by  this  name, 
which  is  commonly  used  in  popular  history. t 

*  "  History  of  the  Monguls,"  p.  27. 

t  Kilter,  "Erdkunde  in  Vcrhaltniss  zur  Natur  und  zur  Gescliichte 
dcs  Menschen,"2  Th.  ii.  Buch,  Asicn,  1    Band,  pp.   241— 2S3.     Dr. 


NATURAI,    HISTORY    OF    MAN.  Ill 

Philologically  considered,  they  are  classified  together  by  Abel- 
Remusat,  who  devoted  a  great  portion  of  his  life  to  the  study  of  their 
languages.  In  his  classical  work  upon  them,  he  comprises  under 
this  name  the  Turks,  Tartars,  JMantchous,  and  Monguls,  whom  he 
considers  only  a  branch  of  the  Tartars.*  In  like  manner,  Klaproth 
and  Balbi  classify  the  language  of  these  nations  in  one  general  di- 
vision, t 

Phy siognomically  viewed,  there  is,  as  I  before  observed,  con- 
siderable difference  of  opinion.  What  we  now  call  Turks,  or  the 
Osmanlis,  undoubtedly  belong  to  the  Caucasian  race,  as  do  the 
Turcomans,  or  wandering  tribes  north  of  Persia.  According  to 
Virey,  the  Tartars,  upon  physiognomical  grounds,  belong  to  the 
same  family  as  the  Monguls,  of  which  they  form  only  a  subdivision. | 
Lacepede  is  extremely  confused  in  his  account,  and  first  unites  the 
Turks  and  Laplanders  in  one  family,  with  the  greater  part  of  the 
Tartars,  as  members  of  the  Caucasian  race,  then  throws  into  the 
other,  "  the  Tartars  properly  called  the  Monguls. "§  Blumenbach 
clearly  distinguishes  the  two,  referring  the  Tartars  to  the  Caucasian 
family,  although  he  acknowleges,  that  through  the  Kirghis  they  run 
insensibly  into  the  Mongul  variety.  Dr.  Prichard  makes  the  same 
distinction,  but  supposes  that  this  resemblance  never  occurs  without 
an  intermixture  of  blood. |)  The  same  seems  to  be  the  opinion  of 
Pallas,  who  observes,  that  "  the  Monguls  have  nothing  in  common 
with  the  Tartars,  except  their  nomadic  or  wandering  life,  and  some 
resemblance  of  language.  The  "  Monguls,"  he  continues,  "  differ 
as  much  from  the  Tartars,  as  the  negroes  from  the  Moors,  in  customs, 
political  institutions,  and  features."  But  he  likewise  acknowledges 
that  the  Monguls  have,  by  their  emigrations  and  wars,  communicated 
their  features  to  the  above-named,  and  other  Tartar  tribes. ft  This 
explanatory  digression,  concerning  these  nations,  will  not  be  without 
its  use  in  what  I  have  later  to  discuss  :  I  shall,  on  the  contrary,  have 
occasion  to  refer  to  it  for  very  important  conclusions. 

Prichard  considers  the  Turks  and  Tartars  as  historically  one  race. 
"  Researches,"  vol.  ii.  p.  283. 

*  Recherches,"  etc.  Discours  prelim,  p.  xxxvii. 

f  Klaproth,  Asia  Polyglotta,  p.  2.55.     Balbi,  Atlas  Ethiio^.  No.  viii. 

I  Ubisup.  p.  413. 

§  Dictionnaire  des  Sciences  natu relies,"  to.  xxi.  Art.  Homme,  p.  385. 

II  ''De  gener.  humani  variet."  p.  306.     Researches  ibid. 
tt  TIbi  sup.  p.  486. 


112  LECTURE    THE    THIRD. 

Before  quitting  this  historical  portion  of  my  subject,  it  would  be 
unjust  not  to  mention  a  national  writer,  who  has  most  ably  and  learn- 
edly collected  into  one  work  all  the  historical  and  physical  facts 
which  can  any  way  throw  light  upon  the  natural  history  of  mankind. 
He  examines  each  nation,  or  family  of  nations,  distinctly,  and,  from 
the  observations  of  travellers  and  historians,  endeavors  to  trace  them 
from  their  original  seats,  and  connect  them  with  their  cognate  tribes. 
He  is  perhaps,  too,  the  first  writer  who  attempted  to  connect  this 
science  with  the  philological  researches  which  formed  the  subject  of 
our  last  lectures.  If  I  had  to  find  any  fault,  it  would  be,  that  the 
learned  author  does  not  draw  consequences  sufficiently  definite  and 
decisive  from  the  mass  of  facts  wliich  he  has  collected  :  that  the  pre- 
liminary or  introductory  portion  of  the  work  is  so  far  separated  from 
the  particular  data  to  which  its  principles  are  to  be  applied,  that  a 
reader,  giving  only  ordinary  attention  to  the  book,  will  not  easily 
seize  the  important  conclusions  which  it  has  a  right  to  suggest.  It 
will,  however  be  difficult  for  any  one  in  future  to  treat  of  this  theme, 
without  being  indebted  to  Dr.  Prichard  for  a  great  portion  of  his  ma- 
terials. 

Having  thus  enumerated  the  authors,  and  explained  the  systems, 
which  appear  most  deserving  of  our  notice,  as  ranged  on  the  side  of 
truth,  it  is  fair  to  state  who  are  our  opponents,  and  what  are  their 
views  of  this  science.  They  are  to  be  found  chiefly  among  French 
naturalists,  who  unfortunately  are  yet,  in  part  at  least,  unreclaimed 
from  the  skeptical  theories  of  the  last  century.  Voltaire  in  fact  was 
one  of  the  first  to  observe,  that  "  none  but  a  blind  man  can  doubt,  that 
the  whites,  negroes,  albinos,  Hottentots,  Laplanders,  Chinese  and 
Americans,  are  entirely  distinct  races."*  Desmoulins,  in  an  Essay 
which,  to  the  credit  of  the  Academic  des  Sciences,  was  rejected  by 
that  learned  body,  asserts  the  existence  of  eleven  independent  fami- 
lies of  the  human  race.t  Mons.  Bory  de  Saint-Vincent  goes  further 
still,  and  increases  the  number  to  fifteen,  which  are  again  consider- 
ably subdivided.  Thus  the  Adamic  family,  or  the  descendants  of 
Adam,  constitute  only  the  second  division  of  the  Arabic  species  of 
man,  the  hmno  Arahicus ;  while  we,  the  English,  belong  to  the 
Teutonic  variety  of  the  Germanic  race,  which  is  again  but  the  fourth 
fraction  of  the  gens  hraccata,  or  small-clothes  wearing  family  of  the 
Japhetic  species,  the  homo  Japhcticus,  who  is  divided  into  the  above- 

*  "  Historie  de  Russia  sous  Pierre  le  Grand,"  c.  i. 
f  Historie  naturelle  des  races  huniaines." 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAX.  1  13 

mentioned  class  and  another,  somewhat  more  elegantly  cognizanced, 
namely,  the  gens  togata,  or  cloaked  family.* 

Virey  belongs  to  the  same  school ;  though  his  works  are  even 
more  revolting,  from  the  light  and  wanton  manner  in  which  the 
most  delicate  points  of  morals  and  religion  are  handled  throughout. 
Not  content  with  attributing  to  the  negro  a  different  origin  from  the 
European,  he  goes  so  far  as  almost  to  suspect  a  certain  fraternity  be- 
tween the  Hottentot  and  the  baboon. t  But  on  this  subject  Lamarck 
has  gone  much  further,  and  attempted  to  point  out  the  steps  whereby 
nature  proceeds,  or  in  former  times  did  proceed,  towards  gradually 
developing  one  class  of  beings  from  another,  so  as  to  establish  a 
graduated  chain,  not  of  simultaneous,  but  of  successive,  links  ;  and 
thus  produced  in  the  end  the  human  species,  by  a  metamorphosis, 
the  inverse  indeed,  but  not  for  that  the  less  marvellous,  of  what  we 
read  in  ancient  fable.  The  two  volumes  of  his  Philosophie  zoologi- 
que,  are  entirely  directed  to  support  this  degrading  theory  ;  the  first, 
to  prove  how  man's  bodily  organization  sprung  from  a  casual  though 
natural  modification  of  the  ape;  the  second,  to  show  that  the  spiritual 
prerogatives  of  the  human  mind  are  but  the  extension  of  the  faculties 
enjoyed  by  brutes,  and  only  differ  in  quantity  from  their  reasoning 
powers.f  Lamarck  assumes,  upon  slight  and  ill-supported  grounds, 
that  because  we  see  in  nature  an  existing  gradation  of  organized 
beings,  there  must  also  have  been  a  successive  development,  where- 
by animals  of  one  class  might  rise  into  another ;  inasmuch  as  any 
animal,  being  driven,  by  its  wants,  to  new  or  peculiar  habits,  thereby 
acquires  the   variation  of  organization   necessary  for  them,  although 

*  "Dictionnaire  classiqne  d'liistorie  naturelle,"  torn.  viii.  Par.  1825, 
pp.  293  and  287.  The  Japhetic  man  is  liimself  only  a  division  of  the 
Leiotrie  or  close-haired  race.  The  unity  of  origin  of  the  fifteen  races 
is  denied,  p.  331. 

t  Op.  cit.  torn.  ii.  p.  157. 

t  "  Philosophie  zoologiqiie  ;  on,  exposition  des  considerations  rela- 
tives a  I'histoire  naturelle  des  aniinaux,  par.  J.  B.  Lamarck,"  Paris, 
1830.  See  for  this  point  particularly  torn.  ii.  p.  445.  I  may  here  ob- 
serve that  Steffens  denies  altogether  tiie  existence  of  a  graduated  scale 
of  beings,  inasmuch  as  to  support  it,  according  to  him,  the  lowest  ani- 
mals should  come  next  to  the  most  perfect  plants,  whereas  the  links  be- 
tween the  two  orders  possess  the  lowest  qualities  of  each,  as  polypi, 
infusaria,  algae,  etc. ;  the  organization  of  all  which,  whether  in  reference 
to  the  vegetable  or  animal  kingdoms,  is  of  the  lowest  kind. — Anthro- 
pologie,  ii.  Buch,  p.  6. 

15 


114  LECTURE    THE    THIRD. 

generations  must  persevere  in  their  exercise  before  the  effect  is  per- 
ceptible. Thus,  for  instance,  a  bird  is  driven  by  its  wants  to  take  to 
the  water,  and  either  swim  or  wade  ;  its  successors  do  the  same ;  in 
the  course  of  many  generations,  tlie  outstretching  of  its  claws  pro- 
duces a  web  between  them,  and  it  becomes  a  regular  waterfowl ;  or 
it  extends  its  limbs  to  walk  in  deeper  places,  and  gradually  its  legs 
are  prolonged  to  the  length  of  the  crane's  or  the  flamingo's.*  These 
two  agencies  combined,  new  wants,  and  the  tendency  of  nature  to 
meet  them,  conspired  to  make  man  out  of  the  baboon.  One  race  of 
these,  probably  the  Angola  Orang,  from  some  unrecorded  reason 
lost  the  habit  of  climbing  trees,  or  holding  by  their  hind  as  well  as  by 
their  fore  limbs.  After  thus  walking  on  the  ground  for  many 
generations,  the  former  changed  into  a  shape  more  suited  to  their 
habits,  and  became  feet,  and  they  gradually  acquired  the  habit  of 
walking  erect.  They  now  no  longer  needed  their  jaws  for  cropping 
fruit  or  for  fighting  with  one  another,  having  their  fore  feet  or  hands 
now  disposable  for  these  purposes  ;  and  hence  by  degrees,  their 
snouts  shortened,  and  their  face  became  more  vertical.  Advancing 
still  further  in  this  road  to  humanization,  their  grin  subsided  into  a 
courtly  smile,  and  their  jabbering  resolved  itself  into  articulate  sounds. 
"  Such,"  he  concludes,  "  would  be  the  reflections  which  might  be 
made,  if  man  were  distinguished  from  animals  only  by  the  character 
of  his  organization,  and  if  his  origin  were  not  different  from  theirs. "t 
Unfortunately,  however,  his  second  volume  disposes  of  any  other 
proof  that  man  had  a  different  origin.  I  hardly  need  detain  you  to 
confute  this  scheme  ;  I  will  content  myself  with  remarking  that  the 
experience  of  thousands  of  years  has  abundantly  disproved  it.  How 
comes  it  that  we  can  discover  no  instance  of  any  such  developments 
as  Lamarck  assumes,  during  this  long  period  of  observation  ?  The 
bee  has  been  striving  without  intermission  in  the  art  of  making  its 
sweet  confection,  since  the  days  of  Aristotle  ;  the  ant  has  been  con- 
structing its  labyrinths,  since  Solomon  recommended  its  example  ; 
but  from  the  time  they  were  described  by  the  philosopher  and  the 
sage,  till  the  beautiful  researches  of  the  Hubers,  we  are  certain  that 


*  Tom,  i.  p.  249.  If  some  birds,  he  says,  (p.  251)  which  swim, 
have  loiii,^  necks,  as  the  swan  and  s^oose,  it  is  from  tiieir  custom  of 
plunging  llicir  heads  in  the  water,  to  lisli.  ^V^Ily  then,  we  may  ask,  lias 
not  tlie  same  habit  produced  a  like  effect  in  the  duck  or  teal .' 

t  Page  ;J57. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAX.  115 

they  have  not  acquired  a  new  perception,  or  a  new  organ  for  these 
purposes.  Egypt,  which,  as  the  learned  commission  of  French  natu- 
ralists well  observed,  has  preserved  for  us  a  museum  of  natural  history 
not  only  in  its  paintings,  but  in  the  mummies  of  its  animals,  presents 
us  every  species,  after  three  thousand  years,  perfectly  unchanged. 
What  striving  has  there  not  been  in  man,  and  is  there  not  particular- 
ly now,  after  new  resources,  after  new  powers,  and  after  a  greater 
range  in  the  use  of  his  senses!  and  yet,  alas  !  not  the  sprouting  of  a 
new  limb,  not  the  expansion  of  a  single  organ,  not  the  opening  of  a 
single  new  channel  of  perception,  begins  as  yet  to  give  us  hope,  after 
many  thousands  of  years,  that  we  shall  yet  reach  a  higher  step  in  the 
scale  of  progressive  improvement,  or  recede  somewhat  further  from 
our  consanguinity  with  the  chattering  ape.*  s 

It  is  now  time  to  proceed,  from  the  history  and  principles  of  this 
study,  to  its  discoveries  and  results.  In  making  you  acquainted  with 
these,  and  with  their  bearing  upon  what  religion  teaches  regarding 
the  origin  of  mankind,  I  will  follow  what  appears  to  me  the  simplest 
and  most  satisfactory  method.  I  will  condense  these  results  into  a 
compendious  essay  upon  the  subject,  bringing  together  the  observa- 
tions and  discoveries  of  modern  authors,  interspersed  with  such  facts 
as  I  have  myself  collected,  and  freely  communicating  my  own  reflec- 
tions. By  this  means,  I  hope  to  put  you  in  possession  of  all  that  can 
interest  you  on  this  important,  but  yet  not  perfectly  elucidated,  sub- 
ject. 

The  great  problem  to  be  solved  is,  how  could  such  varieties  as 
we  have  seen,  have  taken  their  rise  in  the  human  species  ?  Was  it 
by  a'sudden  change,  which  altered  some  portion  of  one  great  family 
into  another  ;  or  are  we  to  suppose  a  gradual  degradation,  as  natu- 
ralists call  it,  whereby  some  nations  or  families  passed  gradually 
through  successive  shades,  from  one  extreme  to  the  other  ?  And,  in 
either  case,  which  is  to  be  considered  the  original  stock  ?  It  must  be 
owned,  that  the  present  state  of  this  science  does  not  warrant  us  in 
expressly  deciding  in  favor  of  either  hypothesis,  nor,  consequently, 
in  even  discussing  the  last  consequence.  But,  independently  of  this, 
it  has  arrived  so  far  as  to  leave  no  reasonable  room,  to  doubt  the 
common  origin  of  every  race. 

*  See  a  very  full  confutation  of  Lamarck's  system  in  Lyell's  "Prin- 
ciples of  Geology,"  vol.  ii.  p.  18.  Lond.  1830.  Lamarck,  however, 
denies  that  his  theory  is  at  all  affected  by  the  animals  foimd  in  Egypt, 
loni.  i.  p.  70. 


I  16  LECTURE    THE    THIRD. 

For,  I  think  we  may  say,  after  looking  through  all  that  has  been 
done  in  this  yet  infant  science,  that  the  following  points,  embracing 
all  the  elements  of  the  problem,  have  been  satisfactorily  solved. 
First,  that  accidental,  or,  as  they  are  called,  sporadic  varieties,  may 
arise  in  one  race,  tending  to  produce  in  it  the  characteristics  of 
another ;  secondly,  that  these  varieties  may  be  perpetuated  ;  thirdly, 
that  climate,  food,  civilization,  etc.  may  strongly  influence  the  pro- 
duction of  such  varieties,  or,  at  least,  render  them  fixed,  characteris- 
tic, and  perpetual.  I  say  that  these  points,  if  proved,  embrace  all  the 
elements  of  the  proposed  problem,  which  is,  "  could  such  varieties  as 
we  now  sec  in  the  human  race,  have  sprung  up  from  one  stock  ?" 
For  if  this  is  demonstrated,  we  have  removed  the  grounds  whereon 
the  adversaries  of  revelation  deny  the  unity  of  origin  which  it  teaches. 
And,  moreover,  every  sound  philosopher  will,  if  unobjectionable,  pre- 
fer the  simpler  to  the  more  complex  hypothesis.  In  treating  these 
points,  it  will  be  almost  impossible  to  keep  them  completely  unmixed, 
especially  the  two  first :  but  no  inconvenience  will,  I  trust,  result 
from  their  running  into  one  another. 

The  ground,  before  closing  directly  with  the  inquiry,  is  in  gener- 
al prepared,  by  writers  on  this  science,  by  examining  the  laws  which 
nature  has  followed  in  regard  to  the  lower  orders  of  creation.  To 
begin,  for  instance,  with  plants,  every  observation  leads  us  more  and 
more  to  the  conclusion,  that  each  species  takes  its  rise  from  some 
common  centre,  whence  it  has  gradually  been  propagated.  The 
observations  made  by  Humboldt  and  Bonpland  in  South  America,  by 
Pursh  in  the  United  States,  and  by  Brown  in  New  Holland,  have 
furnished  Decandolle  with  sufficient  materials  to  attempt  with  success 
a  geographical  distribution  of  plants,  showing-tfie  centre  whence  each 
probably  succeeded.  He  has  enumerated  twenty  botanical  provin- 
ces, as  he  calls  them,  inhabited  by  indigenous  or  aboriginal  plants. 
It  is  not,  therefore,  wonderful,  that  when  America  was  first  discover- 
ed, not  a  single  plant  should  have  been  there  found  which  was  known 
in  the  old  world,  except  such  as  could  have  had  their  seeds  trans- 
mitted through  the  waters  of  the  ocean.  In  the  United  States,  out  of 
2,891  species  of  plants,  only  385  are  found  in  Northern  Europe  ;  and 
out  of  4,lt}0  species  discovered  in  New  Holland,  only  lOG  are  com- 
mon to  our  countries ;  and  of  these  many  have  been  planted  by  the 
settlers.*     This  shows  at  once,  the  tendency  of  nature  to  simplicity 

*  See  Lyell's  able  chapter  on  this  subject,  vol.  ii.  \k  66;  and 
Prichard,  vol.  i.  c.  2,  sec.  2,   p.  23.     For   the    points   of  resemblance 


NATURAL   HISTORY  OF   MAN.  117 

and  unity  in  its  origin  of  things  ;  while  the  varieties  that  spring  up 
in  the  vegetable  world,  under  the  influence  of  outward  circumstan- 
ces, demonstrate  the  existence  of  a  modifying  influence  in  constant 
action. 

But  the  analogy  between  animals  and  man  is  closer  and  more  ap- 
plicable. The  physical  organization  of  both  classes  of  animated  be- 
ings, is  so  similar,  the  laws  whereby  their  individuals  and  their  races 
are  preserved,  are  so  identical,  their  subjection  to  the  laws  of  morbid 
influences,  to  the  operation  of  natural  causes,  and,  under  the  differ- 
ent names  of  domestication  and  civilization,  to  the  agency  of  artificial 
combinations,  is  so  analogous,  that  we  have  almost  a  right  to  argue 
from  one's  actual,  to  the  other's  possible  modifications. 

Now,  it  is  certain  and  obvious  that  animals,  acknowledged  to 
form  one  species,  under  peculiar  circumstances,  divide  into  varieties 
as  distinct  as  those  observable  in  the  human  species.  For  instance, 
as  to  the  shape  of  the  skull,  those  of  the  mastiflfand  Italian  grey- 
hound differ  from  one  another  far  more  than  those  of  the  European 
and  negro ;  and  yet,  every  criterion  which  can  be  given  of  species, 
will  comprehend  the  two  extremes,  between  which  a  train  of  inter- 
mediate gradations  can  be  clearly  established.  The  skull,  too,  of 
the  wild  boar,  as  Blumenbach  has  observed,  does  not  differ  less  from 
the  tame  swine's,  its  undoubted  descendant,  than  those  of  any  two 
human  races  from  one  another.*  In  every  species  of  domestic  cat- 
tle, varieties  as  striking  will  be  found. 

Changes  in  the  structure  and  color  of  the  hair  are  no  less  ordina- 
ry and  remarkable.  All  the  fowls  in  Guinea,  and  the  dogs  too,  ac- 
cording to  Beckman,  are  as  black  as  the  inhabitants.!  The  ox  of 
the  Roman  campagna  is  invariably  grey,  while,  in  some  other  parts 
of  Italy,  the  breed  is  mostly  red  ;  swine  and  sheep  are  also  here  chiefly 
black,  while  in  England  white  is  their  prevailing  hue.  In  Corsica, 
horses,  dogs  and  other  animals,  become  beautifully  spotted,  and  the 
carriage-dog,  as  it  is  called,  belongs  to  that  country.  Many  writers 
have  attributed  to  particular  rivers  the  quality  of  giving  color  to  the 
cattle  on  their  banks.     Thus  Vitruvius  observes  that  the  rivers  of 


in  the  organization  of  plants  and  animals,  see  Camper's  dissertation 
on  that  subject,  "Oratio  de  Analogia  inter  Animalia  et  Stirpes,"  Gron- 
ing,  1764. 

*  Op.  cit.  p.  80. 

f  "  Voyage  to  and  from  Borneo,"  London,  1718,  p.  14. 


118  LECTT'RE    THK    THIRD. 

BcRotia,  and  the  Xanllius  near  Troy,  gave  a  yellow  color  to  their 
herds,  whence  the  river  Xanthus  took  its  name.*  Mr.  Steward  Rose, 
in  his  Letters  from  the  North  of  Italy,  says,  that  a  similar  quality  is 
attributed  to  the  Po,  at  the  present  day.t  And  many  of  you  will 
here  probably  remember  the  white  herds  of  the  beautiful  Clitumnus, 
as  described  by  the  poet : — 

"Hinc  albi  Clitumne  greges,  et  maxima  taurus 
Victima  sfepe,  tuo  perfusi  flumine  sacro 
Romanes  ad  tenipla  Deum  duxere  triumphos."| 

The  texture  of  the  hair  undergoes  similar  changes.  Every  attempt 
to  produce  wool  in  the  West  Indies,  has  I  believe,  failed,  because 
sheep  if  transported  thither,  entirely  lose  their  wool,  and  become 
covered  with  hair.^  This  is  the  same  in  other  hot  climates.  "  The 
sheep  in  Guinea,"  says  Smith,  "  have  so  little  resemblance  to  those 
in  Europe,  that  a  stranger,  unless  he  heard  them  bleat,  could  hardly 
tell  what  animals  they  were,  being  covered  only  with  light  brown  and 
black  hair  like  a  dog  :"  so  that  a  fanciful  writer  observes  ;  "  here  the 
world  seems  inverted,  for  the  sheep  are  hairy,  and  the  men  woolly." || 
A  similar  phenomenon  occurs  in  the  country  around  Angora,  where 
almost  every  animal,  sheep,  goats,  rabbits,  and  cats,  are  covered  with 
a  beautiful,  long,  silken  hair,  so  celebrated  in  oriental  manufactures. 
Other  animals  are  subject  to  this  change,  for  Bishop  Heber  informs 


*  "  Sunt  enim  Bseotia  tlumina  Cephysus,  et  Meias,  Leucanise,  Cra- 
this,  Trojoe  Xanthus,  etc.  .  .  .  cnin  pecora  suis  teniporibusanni  paran- 
tur  ad  conceptionem  partus,  per  id  tenipus  adiguntur  eo  quotidie  po- 
tum,  ex  eoque,  quamvis  sint  alba,  procreant  aliis  locis  leucophsea,  alliis 
pulla,  aliis  coracitio  collore.  Jgitur  quoniani  in  Trojanis  proxitne  flu- 
men  armenta  rufa,  et  pecora  leucophfea  nascunmr  ;  idee  id  flumen  lii- 
enses  Xanthum  appellavisse  dicuntur." — "Architect."  I.  viii.  c.  iii.)).  162, 
edit.  De  Laet.  Amst.  1G49.  In  the  notes  to  this  passage  are  added  con- 
firmatory authorities  from  Pliny,  Theopiirastus,  Strabo,  etc. ;  some  ev- 
idently run  into  fable.  Aristotle,"  Dc  Historia  Animal,"  1.  iii.  gives  the 
same  etymology  of  the  river  Xanthus. 

t  "  Letters  from  the  North  of  Italy,"  Lonrf.  1819,  vol.  i.  p.  23.  The 
idea  of  the  natives  is,  "  that  not  only  the  indigenous  beasts  are  white, 
(or,  to  speak  more  precisely,  cream-colored,)  but  that  even  foreign 
beeves  put  on  the  same  livery,  on  drinking  the  Po." 

\  Virgil,  "Gcorg."  ii.  146.  §  Prichard,  ib.  p.  226. 

II  Smith,  "  New  Voyage  to  Guinea,"  Lond.  1745,  p.  147.  "  New 
General  Collection  of  Voyages  and  Travels,  vol.  ii.  Lond.  1745,  j).  71  i. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  MAN. 


119 


US,  that  "  dogs  and  horses  carried  into  the  hills  from  India,  are  soon 
covered  with  wool,  like  the  shawl-goats  of  that  climate."* 

And  if  we  look  to  the  general  form  and  structure  of  animals,  we 
shall  find  them  subject  to  the   greatest  variations.     None  shows  this 
more  clearly  than  the  ox,  simply  because  on   none,  have  art  and  do- 
mestication been  tried  to  a  greater  extent.     What  a  contrast  there  is 
between  the  slow,  massive,  long-horned   animal,  which  traverses  the 
Roman  streets,  and  the  small-headed,  clean-limbed  breed  which  an 
English  farmer  most  prizes.     According  to  Bosman,  "  European 
dogs  soon  degenerate  to  a  strange  degree  on  the  Gold-coast :  their 
ears  grow  long  and  stiff  like  a  fox's,  to  the  color  of  which  animal  they 
also  incline ;  so  that  they  grow  very  ugly  in  three  or  four  years,  and 
in  as  many  broods  their  barking  turns  to  a  howl  or  yelp."     Burbot 
says,   in  like  manner,  that  the  native  "  dogs  are  very  ugly,  being 
much  like  our  foxes,  with  long  upright  ears ;  their  tails  long,  small, 
and  sharp  at  the  end,  without  any  hair,  having  only  a  naked,  bare 
skin,  either  plain  or  spotted,  and  never  bark,  but  only  howl.     The 
blacks  call  them  cabre  de  matto,  which  in  Portuguese  signifies  a  wild 
goat,  because  they  eat  them,  and  value  their  flesh  beyond  rautton."+ 
Thus  it  appears  that  climate  or  other  local  circumstances,  have  the 
effect,  in  this  instance,  of  reducing,  in  a  few  generations,  a  breed  of 
animals  brought  from  another  country,  to  the  same  condition  as  the 
native  race,  so  as  to  be  quite  distinct,  and   hardly  traceable  to  its 
original  stock.     The  camel  likewise  presents  an  example  of  extraor- 
dinary modifications.     "  In  some  caravans  which  we  passed,"  says  a 
late  traveller,  "  were  camels  of  a  much  larger  kind  than  any  I  had 
ever  seen  before,  and  as  different  in  their  forms  and  proportions  from 
the  camel  of  Arabia,  as  a  mastiff  is  from  a  greyhound.     These  cam- 
els had  large  heads  and  thick  necks,  from  the  under  edge  of  which 
depended  a  long,  shaggy,  dark-brown   hair  ;  their  legs  were  short, 
their  joints  thick,  and  their  carcasses  and  haunches  round  and  fleshy, 
though  they  stood  at  least  a  foot  higher  from  the  ground  than  the 
common  camels  of  the  Arabian  desert."t     And,  speaking  of  this  an- 
imal, I  may  observe,  that  its  great  characteristic,  the  hump  upon  its 

*  "Narrative  of  a  Journey  through  the  Upper  Provinces  of  India," 
2d  edit.  Lond.  1828,  vol.  ii.  p.  219. 

t  "New  Collection  of  Voyages,  etc."  p.  712. 

\  "  Travels  in  Assyria,  Media,  and  Persia,"  by  J.  S.  Buckingham, 
2d  edit.  Lond.  1830,  vol.  i.  p.  241. 


120  LECTURE    THE    THIRD. 

back,  which  in  the  Bactrian  variety  is  doubled,  is  supposed  by  some 
naturalists  to  be  an  accidental  deviation  from  the  original  type,  aris- 
ing from  a  sebaceous  or  fatty  deposit  in  the  cellular  tissue  of  the 
back,  in  consequence  of  exposure  to  heat;  just  like  the  haunch  on 
the  zebu  or  Indian  ox,  or  the  tail  of  the  Barbary  and  Syrian  sheep, 
or  the  similar  formation  on  the  loins  of  the  Bosjman  Hottentots.* 

These  examples,  in  which  I  have  rather  sought  to  add  to  those  ad- 
duced by  others,  than  to  repeat  what  have  been  already  collected, 
prove  that  sporadic  or  accidental  varieties,  may  not  only  be  produced, 
but  what  is  more  to  our  purpose,  be  propagated  among  animals. 
Nor  would  it  be  difficult  to  multiply  instances  of  this  last  fact ;  for 
the  great  dissemination  of  albino  animals,  as  white  rabbits,  or  cream- 
colored  horses,  which  probably  arose  originally  from  disease,  proves 
how  well  such  casual  varieties  may  be  reproduced.  But  Dr.  Prichard 
gives  one  example  which  is  very  remarkable,  that  of  a  breed  of  sheep 
reared,  within  a  few  years  in  England,  and  known  by  the  name  of 
the  ancon  or  otter  breed.  It  sprung  up  from  an  accidental  variety, 
or  we  may  say,  deformity  in  one  animal,  which  communicated  its 
peculiarities  so  completely  to  its  progeny,  that  the  breed  is  complete- 
ly established,  and  promises  to  be  perpetual ;  indeed,  it  is  highly  val- 
ued on  account  of  the  shortness  of  its  legs,  which  does  not  allow  it 
easily  to  get  through  fences.t  It  is  well  known,  also,  that  the  breed 
of  cattle  which  produced  the  enormous  Durham  ox,  was  artificially 
produced,  by  crossing  it  with  such  as  seemed  to  present  fine  points 
of  every  sort,  the  basis  being  the  kyloe,  or  small  Highland  breed  ; 
and  all  the  cattle  that  arrive  at  any  extraordinary  dimensions,  are 
connected  with  this  race. 

The  reasonings  sanctioned  by  these  facts,  present  a  strong  ground 
of  analogy,  applicable  to  the  human  species;  nor  is  it  easy  to  see 
why  varieties  as  great  may  not  have  been  produced,  and  transmitted 
by  descent,  among  men,  as  among  inferior  animals.  For  it  thus  ap- 
pears certain,  that  diversities,  equally  affecting  the  form  of  the  skull, 
the  color  and  texture  of  the  hair,  and  the  general  form  of  the  body, 
do  arise  among  animals  of  one  stock  ;  further,  it  seems  proved  that 
such  differences  may  originally  spring  from  some  casual  variety, 
which,  owing  to  peculiar  circumstances,  becomes  fixed  and  charac- 
teristic, and  transmissible  by  descent.     May  we  not,  then,  consider 

*  Levailiant,  "  Second  Voyage,"  torn.  ii.  p.  207.  Vh'ey,  torn.  i.  ji.  218. 
t  Vol.  ii.  p.  550. 


NATl.RAl.    HISTOKY    OK    MAN.  121 

it  as  highly  probable,  that,  in  the  hiiinaii  :^pecies,  the  same  causes 
may  similarly  operate,  and  produce  no  less  lasting  effects  ?  And 
that  such  variations  as  appear  within  it,  being  no  more  asunder  from 
one  another,  than  such  as  in  the  brute  creation  have  been  noted,  re- 
quire no  more  violent  or  extraordinary  agency  to  account  for  them  ? 
But  let  us  now  come  nearer  the  point,  and  take  the  matter  more 
closely  in  hand. 

It  seems  then  to  me  clear,  that  in  each  family,  or  race  of  the  hu- 
man species,  there  are  occasionally  produced  varieties  tending  to 
establish  within  it  the  characteristics  of  some  other.  For  example, 
red  hair  is  considered  almost  exclusively  confined  to  the  Caucasian 
family  ;  yet  individuals  exist  in  almost  every  known  variety  with  this 
peculiarity.  Charlevoix  observed  it  among  the  Esquimaux,  Son- 
nerat  among  the  Papuans,  Wallis  among  the  Tahitians,  and  Lopes 
among  the  negroes.*  This  is  no  more  surprising  than  that  among 
us  individuals  should  be  found  with  frizzled  hair  ;  and,  I  think, 
those  who  have  paid  attention  to  such  things,  will  have  often  observed 
in  such  persons  a  tendency  towards  some  other  characteristics  of  the 
Ethiopian  family,  as  a  dark  complexion  and  thick  lips.  In  the  speci- 
mens of  craniums  published  by  Blumenbach,  from  hi.s  museum,  there 
is  one  of  a  Lithuanian,  which,  viewed  in  profile,  might  well  be  mis- 
taken for  a  negro's.f  But  the  most  curious  example  which  I  have 
met  of  this  sporadic  tendency  to  produce  in  one  human  race  the 
characteristics  of  another,  is  in  a  recent  traveller,  almost  the  first 
who  explored  the  Hauran  or  district  beyond  the  Jordan.  He  writes 
as  follows  :  "The  family  residing  here  (at  Abu-el-Beady)  in  charge 
of  the  sanctuary,  were  remarkable  for  having,  with  the  exception  of 
the  father  only,  negro  features,  a  deep  black  color,  and  crisped  hair. 
My  own  opinion  was,  that  this  must  have  been  occasioned  by  their 
being  born  of  a  negress  mother,  as  such  persons  are  sometimes  found 
among  the  Arabs,  in  the  relation  of  wives  or  concubines,  but  while  I 
could  entertain  no  doubt  from  my  own  observation,  that  the  present 
head  of  the  family  was  a  pure  Arab  of  unmixed  blood,  I  was  also  as- 
sured, that  both  the  males  and  females  of  the  present  and  former 
generations,  were  all  pure  Arabs  by  descent  and  marriage,  and  that 
a  negress  had  never  been  known,  either  as  a  wife  or  slave,  in  the 
history  of  the  family.     It  is  certainly  a  very  marked  peculiarity  of  the 


*  Blumenbach,  p.  169. 

f  "Decades  Cranionim,"  dec.  3a,  pi.  xxii.  p.  (J. 
16 


12"2  LFXTURE    THE    THIRD. 

Arabs  that  inliabit  the  valley  of  the  Jordan,  that  they  have  flatter 
features,  darker  skins,  and  coarser  hair,  than  any  other  tribes ;  a 
peculiarity  rather  attributable,  I  conceive,  to  the  constant  and  intense 
heat  of  that  region,  than  to  any  other  cause."*  If  all  the  facts  and 
circumstances  here  given  can  be  considered  sufficiently  verified,  we 
have  certainly  a  very  striking  instance  of  approximation  in  individuals 
of  one  family,  to  the  distinctives  of  another,  and  of  these  distinctives 
being  transmitted  by  descent. 

There  are  indeed  examples  of  much  more  decided  and  stranger 
varieties  arising  among  men,  than  what  constitute  the  specific  char- 
acteristics of  any  race,  and  of  such  being  continued  from  father  to 
son  ;  —  such  varieties  as  would  have  made  the  problem  in  hand  far 
more  difficult  to  solve  than  at  present  it  is,  had  they  sprung  up  in  a 
distant  quarter  of  the  globe,  and  been  extended  to  any  considerable 
population.  The  most  remarkable  of  these  is  doubtless  what  has 
been  traced  through  three  generations  in  the  family  of  Lambert,  com- 
monly known  by  the  name  of  the  porcupine-man.  The  founder  of 
this  extraordinary  race  was  first  exhibited  as  a  boy  by  his  father,  in 
1731,  and  came  from  the  neighborhood  of  Euston  Hall  in  Suffolk. 
Mr.  Machin  in  that  year  described  him  in  the  Philosophical  Trans- 
actions, as  having  his  body  covered  with  warts  as  thick  as  pack- 
thread and  half  an  inch  long  :  the  name  however  is  not  given.t  In 
1755  he  was  again  exhibited,  with  the  forenamed  title,  and  was  de- 
scribed by  Mr.  Baker,  in  a  paper  purporting  to  be  a  supplement  to 
the  former.  But  what  is  important  is,  that,  being  now  forty  years  of 
acre,  he  had  had  six  children,  every  one  of  whom,  at  the  same  period, 
nine  weeks  after  birth,  had  presented  the  same  peculiarity  ;  and  the 
only  surviving  one,  a  boy  eight  years  old,  was  exhibited  with  his 
father.  Mr.  Baker  gives  a  drawing  of  the  boy's  hand,  as  Mr.  Machin 
had  before  of  his  father's.!  In  1802,  the  children  of  this  boy  were 
exhibited  in  Germany,  by  a  Mons.  and  Mad.  Joanny,  who  pretended 
that  they  belonged  to  a  race  found  in  New-Holland  or  some  other 
very  remote  place.  Dr.  Tilesius,  however,  examined  them  most  mi- 
nutely, and  published  the  most  accurate  account  we  have  of  this  sin- 

*  Buckingliarn's  "  Travels  among  the  Arab  Tril)e.s,"   London,  1825, 
p.  14. 

\  "  On  an  uncommon  case  of  a  distempered  skin,"  by  Jolin  Machin, 
Philosophical  Transactions,  vol.  xxxvii.  for  1731 — 2,  p.  29!'. 

X  Ih.  voL  xlix.  p.  21. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    5IAN.  123 

gular  family,  with  full  length  figures  of  the  two  brothers,  John,  who 
was  21,  and  Richard,  who  was  13  years  of  age.*  Their  father,  the 
boy  of  Mr.  Baker's  narrative,  was  still  alive,  and  was  gamekeeper  to 
Lord  Huntingfield,  at  Heaveningham  Hall  in  Suffolk.  Upon  being 
shown  the  drawing  of  his  hand  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions, 
they  both  instantly  recognized  it  by  the  peculiar  button  at  the  wrist.t 
Tilesius's  description  from  page  30  to  the  end  of  his  work  is  most 
minute,  and  corresponds  exactly  with  that  given  of  their  progenitors. 
The  whole  of  the  body,  excepting  the  palms  of  the  hands,  the  soles  of 
the  feet,  and  the  face,  was  covered  with  a  series  of  horny  excrescen- 
ces of  a  reddish  brown,  hard,  elastic,  and  about  half  an  inch  long, 
which  rustled  against  one  another,  when  rubbed  with  the  hand.  I 
do  not  know  to  what  1  can  compare  the  appearance  of  this  singular 
integument,  as  given  in  Tilesius's  plates,  better  than  to  a  colleclion 
of  basaltic  prisms,  some  longer,  some  shorter,  as  they  are  generally 
grouped  in  nature.  Once  a  year  this  horny  clothing  was  shed,  and 
its  falling  off  was  accompanied  with  some  degree  of  uneasiness  ;  it 
yielded  also  to  the  action  of  mercury,  which  was  tried  for  the  pur- 
pose ;  but  in  both  cases,  it  gradually  returned  after  a  very  short  pe- 
riod.;}: The  conclusions,  which  Mr.  Baker  draws  from  this  extraor- 
dinary phenomenon,  are  very  just,  and  have  still  greater  weight  now, 
that  it  has  been  reproduced  in  another  generation,  and  in  two  dis- 
tinct instances.  "  It  appears  therefore,"  says  he,  "  past  all  doubt, 
that  a  race  of  people  may  be  propagated  by  this  man,  having  such 
rugged  coats  or  coverings  as  himself;  and  if  this  should  happen,  and 
the  accidental  origin  be  forgotten,  'tis  not  impossible  they  might  be 
deemed  a  different  species  of  mankind  :  a  consideration  which 
would  almost  lead  one  to  imagine,  that  if  mankind  were  produced 
from  one  and  the  same  stock,  the  black  skin  of  the  negroes  and 
many  other  differences  of  a  like  kind,  might  possibly  have  been 
originally  owing  to  some  such  accidental  cause. "§ 

Another  more  common  variety  which  runs  in  entire  families, 
consists  of  supernumerary  fingers.  In  ancient  Rome  it  was  designa- 
ted by  a  peculiar  name ;  and  the  Sedigiti  are  mentioned  by  Pliny 


*  "  Ausfiilirliche  Beschreibung  und  Abl)ildung  dei*  beiden  so  ge- 
iiannten  Stachelschweinmenschen,  aus  den  bekannten  engelisben  Fam- 
ilie  Laml)ert,"  Altenburg,  1802,  foi. 

t  Page  4. 

J  "  Philosophical  Traiisactious,"  vol.  xlix.  [).  22. 

§  Ibid. 


1'24  LECTrRF,    TI!F,    THIRD. 

and  otlicr  eminent  authors.  Sir  A.  Carlisle  has  carefully  traced  the 
history  of  one  such  family  through  four  generations.  Its  name  was 
Colburn,  and  the  peculiarity  was  brought  into  the  family  by  the  great- 
grandmothor  ol'the  youngest  examined  :  it  was  not  regular,  but  only 
attached  to  some  children  in  each  generation.  Maupertuis  has  men- 
tioned other  instances  in  Germany  ;  and  a  celebrated  surgeon  at 
Berlin,  Jacob  Rulie,  belonged  to  a  family  with  this  peculiarity  by  the 
mother's  side.* 

Thus  far  then  we  have  proved,  both  from  analogy  and  from  direct 
examples  :  first,  that  there  is  a  perpetual  tendency,  I  might  say  a 
striving,  in  nature,  to  raise  up  in  our  species  varieties,  often  of  a  very 
extraordinary  character,  sometimes  approximating,  in  a  marked  man- 
ner, to  the  peculiar  and  specific  distinctives  of  a  race  ditVerent  to 
that  in  which  they  arise  ;  and  secondly,  that  these  peculiarities  may 
be  communicated  through  successive  generations,  from  lather  to  son. 
A  strong  presumptive  evidence  is  thus  obtained,  that  the  difterent 
families  or  races  ariiong  men,  may  owe  their  origin  to  some  similar 
occurrence;  to  the  casual  rise  of  a  variety  which,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  favorable  circumstances  —  the  isolation,  for  instance,  of  the 
family  in  which  it  began,  and  its  consequent  intermarriages  —  be- 
came fixed  and  indelible  in  succeeding  generations. 

But  you  will  ask,  have  we  any  instance  of  whole  nations  having 
been  so  changed ;  or,  in  other  words,  have  we  any  example  of  these 
two  deductions  in  operation  on  a  large  scale  ?  To  answ  er  this  ques- 
tion you  will  allow  will  be  closing  at  once  with  all  the  difiiculties  of 
the  subject ;  and  I  know  not  where  I  shall  better  be  able  to  interrupt 
the  handling  of  tliis  matter,  than  at  tlie  point  we  have  now  reached. 

In  treating  of  this  science,  we  are  unfortunately  ])recluded  from 
using  a  series  of  arguments,  which  greatly  affects  its  results, — those 
moral  resemblances  between  men  of  every  race,  which  could  hardly 
be  found  among  creatures  of  independent  stock.  I  have  entirely 
omitted,  as  unnecessary,  the  usual  discussions  of  zoologists  and 
physiologists,  as  to  what  is  sufiicient  or  necessary  to  constitute  dis- 
tinctness of  race.  For  I  think  that,  passing  over  the  technicality  of 
such  an  inquiry  as  unfit  for  our  purpose,  ue  are  safe  in  considering 
animals  of  different  species,  when  we  discover  in  them  habits  and 
characters,  if  I  may  use  the  expression,  of  a  totally  different  nature. 
The  wolf  and  the  lamb  are  not  more  distinouished  from  one  another 


t  "  Piiiiosophical  Tran-saclions,"  vol.  civ.  1814,   parti,   p.  91.    I'ri- 
chard,  vol.  ii.  p.  537. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN.  125 

by  their  outward  covering,  and  their  different  features,  than  by  the 
contrast  between  their  dispositions.  And  if  this  should  appear  to 
you  like  a  comparison  of  extremes,  f  will  say  that  the  rude  ferocity  of 
the  wolf,  and  the  prowling  cunning  of  the  fox, — the  gregarious  and 
tumultuary  aggression  of  the  one,  and  the  solitary  pilfering  of  the  other, 
— more  clearly  serve  to  classify  them  to  our  minds,  than  the  differ- 
ence of  their  forms.  Now  if  we  look  at  man  in  the  most  dissimilar 
states  of  social  life,  however  brutalized  or  however  cultivated,  we 
shall  certainly  find  that  there  is  an  approximation  of  feeling,  a  simi- 
larity of  affections,  and  a  facility  of  adaptation,  which  clearly  shows 
that  the  faculty  corresponding  to  the  instinct  of  animals,  is  identical 
through  the  entire  race.  The  Mohawks  and  Osages,the  inhabitants 
of  the  Sandwich  or  the  Pelew  Islands,  by  short  intercourse  with 
Europeans,  especially  when  brought  into  our  countries,  have  learnt  to 
adapt  themselves  to  all  the  proprieties  of  life  as  understood  by  us,  and 
formed  attachments  and  friendships  of  the  most  affectionate  nature, 
with  men  of  another  race.  The  difference  of  organization  in  ani- 
mals is  always  connected  with  their  difference  of  character ;  the 
groove  which  any  single  muscle  makes  upon  the  bones  of  the  lion, 
shows  its  habits  and  nature ;  the  smallest  bone  in  the  antelope  ex- 
hibits a  reference  to  its  timid  and  fugitive  disposition.  But  in  man, 
whether  for  generations  he  has  dozed  away  his  days,  like  a  listless 
Asiatic,  on  the  corner  of  his  divan,  or,  like  an  American  hunter,  has 
for  ages  tired  the  wild  deer  in  the  trackless  forest,  by  his  restless 
chase,  there  is  nothing  in  his  organization  to  show,  that,  through 
custom  or  education,  he  might  not  have  exchanged  one  occupation 
for  another, — nothing  to  prove  that  nature  intended  him  for  either 
state. 

On  the  contrary,  the  similarity  of  moral  attributes,  the  enduring 
power  of  domestic  affections,  the  disposition  to  establish  and  maintain 
mutual  interests,  the  common  feelings  regarding  property  and  the 
methods  of  jjrotecting  it,  notwithstanding  occasional  deviation,  the 
accordance  upon  the  leading  points  of  the  moral  code,  and,  more 
than  all,  the  holy  gift  of  speech,  which  secures  the  perpetuation  of  all 
other  human  characteristics,  prove  that  men,  wherever  situated,  how- 
ever degraded  they  may  now  appear,  were  certainly  destined  for  the 
same  state,  and  consequently  originally  therein  placed.  And  this 
consideration  ought  surely  to  possess  great  weight  towards  establish- 
ing in  man,  as  its  parallel  one  does  in  other  animals,  an  identity  of 
origin. 


126  LECTURE    THE    THIRD. 

This  reasoning  is  of  course  opposed  to  the  popular  theory  of  or- 
dinary philosopliers  ;  that  the  natural  progress  of  men  is  from  barbar- 
ism to  civilization,  and  that  the  savage  must  be  considered  the 
original  type  of  human  nature,  from  which  we  have  departed  by 
gradual  efforts.  But  the  reasoning  I  have  pursued,  the  reflection 
that  nature,  or  rather  its  Author,  will  place  his  creatures  in  the  state 
for  which  he  intended  them,  that,  if  man  were  formed  in  body,  and 
endowed  in  spirit,  for  a  social  and  domestic  life,  he  can  have  been  no 
more  cast  originally  into  a  desert  or  a  forest,  savage  and  untutored, 
than  the  sea-shell  can  have  been  first  produced  on  the  mountain's  top, 
or  the  elephant  been  created  amidst  the  icebergs  of  the  pole  ;  this 
reflection  must  exclude  the  idea  that  the  savnge  state  is  any  but  a 
degradation,  a  departure  from  the  original  destiny  and  position  of 
man.  Such  is  the  view  taken  by  the  learned  Frederick  Schlegel, 
in  a  valuable  work,  which  I  am  glad  to  see  a  respected  and  learned 
friend  of  mine  has  at  length  presented  to  our  countrymen  in  their 
own  tongue  :  and  I  hope  he  will  receive  such  encouragement  in  his 
undertaking  as  may  lead  him  to  complete  the  task,  by  translating  the 
later  works  of  that  philosopher. 

"When  man,"  says  he,  "  had  once  fallen  from  virtue,  no  deter- 
minable limit  could  be  assigned  to  his  degradation,  nor  how  far  he 
might  descend  by  degrees,  and  approximate  even  to  the  level  of  the 
brute ;  for  as  from  his  origin  he  was  a  being  essentially  free,  he  was 
in  consequence  capable  of  change,  and  even  in  his  organic  powers 
most  flexible.  We  must  adopt  this  principle,  as  the  only  clue  to 
guide  us  in  our  inquiries,  from  the  negro,  who  as  well  from  his 
bodily  strength  and  agility,  as  from  his  docile  and,  in  general,  excel- 
lent character,  is  far  from  occupying  the  lowest  grade  in  the  scale  of 
humanity,  down  to  the  monstrous  Patagonian,  the  almost  imbecile 
Peshwerais,  and  the  horrible  cannibal  of  New  Zealand,  whose  very 
portrait  excites  a  shudder  in  the  beholder.  So  far  from  seeking,  with 
Rousseau  and  his  disciples,  for  the  true  origin  of  mankind,  and  the 
proper  foundations  of  the  social  compact,  in  the  condition  even  of  the 
best  and  noblest  savages,  we  regard  it,  on  the  contrary,  as  a  state  of 
degeneracy  and  degradation."* 

This,  assuredly,  is  more  consoling  to  humanity  than  the  degrading 
theories  of  Virey  or  Lamarck  ;  and  yet  there  is  intermixed  therewith 
some  slight  bitternesss  of  humiliation.     For,  if  it  was  revolting  to 

*  "  Philosophy  of  History,"  translated  by  J.  B.  Robertson,  Esq. 
Londov,  1835,  vol.  i.  p.  48,  49. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN.  1'27 

think  that  our  noble  nature  should  be  nothing  more  than  the  perfec- 
ting of  the  ape's  maliciousness,  yet  it  is  not  without  some  shame  and 
sorrow,  that  we  see  that  nature  anywhere  sunk  and  degraded  from 
its  original  beauty,  till  men  should  have  been  able  plausibly  to  sus- 
tain that  odious  affinity.  Yet  may  this  be  of  "  sweet  use"  to  us,  in 
checking  that  pride  which  the  superiority  of  our  civilization  too  often 
excites,  by  recalling  to  our  minds,  that,  if  we  and  the  lowest  savage 
are  but  brethren  of  one  family,  we  are,  even  asthey,  of  a  lowly  origin, 
and  they,  as  we,  have  the  sublimest  destiny ;  that,  in  the  words  of 
the  divine  poet,  we  are  all  equally 

"  worms,  yet  made  at  last  to  form 

The  winged  insect  imped  with  angel  plumes 
That  to  heaven's  justice  unobstructed  soars."* 

And  some  such  composition,  some  such  scheme  of  being,  where- 
by the  two-fold  alliance  of  man  to  a  superior  and  inferior  world, 
should  be  shown,  some  such  variety  of  state,  as  might  prove  the  ex- 
istence of  conflicting  powers,  of  one  which  calls  him  upwards  by 
the  expansion  of  his  faculties,  and  of  one  which  weighs  him  towards 
the  enjoyment  of  the  mere  animal  life,  seems  natural  and  necessary 
for  his  complex  being.  For  thus,  to  conclude  with  the  eloquent 
words  of  a  truly  Christian  philosopher,  "  man  stands  as  a  living 
individuality,  composed  of  nature  and  spirit,  of  outward  and  inward 
being,  of  necessity  and  freedom  ;  to  himself  a  mystery,  to  the  world 
of  spirits  an  object  of  deep  thought,  of  God's  almightiness,  wisdom, 
and  love,  the  perfectest  witness.  Veiled  round  by  his  corporeal  na- 
ture, he  sees  God  as  at  a  distance,  and  is  as  certain  of  his  existence 
as  the  heavenly  spirit,— the  son  of  revelation,  and  the  hero  of  faith, 
who  is  weak  and  yet  strong,  poor,  and  yet  possessor  of  the  highest 
empire  of  love  divine  !"  t 

*  "O  superbi  cristiani,  miseri  lassi 

Che  della  virtu  della  mente  infermi 
Fidanza  avete  ne'  ritrosi  pass!  ; 
Non  vi  accorgete  vol  che  noi  siam  verrai 
Nati  a  formar  I'angelica  forfalia, 
Che  vela  alia  giustizia  senza  sherrai  ?"—Purgat.  x. 
t  Pabst,  "Der  Mensch  imd  seine  Gesehichte,"    Vienna,  1830,  p.  50. 


LECTURE  THE  FOURTH; 

ON 

THE  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE   HUMAN  RACE. 

PART  II. 


Resdlts. — Application  of  Linguistic  Ethnography  to  this  Study.  Proof 
that  nations  shown  to  be  of  a  common  stock  from  their  languages, 
have  rleviatod  from  the  family  type  :  in  the  Mongul  race,  anrl  in  the 
Caucasian. — Origin  of  the  Negro  race  :  Climate  an  insufficient  cause. 
— Collection  of  facts  to  prove  a  change  to  tlie  black  color  possible: 
the  Abyssinians,  Souakin  Arabs,  (yoiigoese,  Foulahs,  etc. — Apparent 
example  of  actual  transition.  Olijections  answered. — Effects  of 
Civilization  :  Seliuks,  IMonguls,  Germans. — Modification  and  suspen- 
sion of  causes  formerly  in  action. — Connexions  of  the  different  races: 
internal  division  into  graduated  shades  of  difference  in  each  ;  Poly- 
nesians, Malays,  inhabitants  of  Italy. — On  the  type  of  national  art. 
Reflections  applicable  to  the  Christian  evidences,  in  reference  to 
the  authenticity  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  perfection  of  our  Saviour's 
character. 

In  my  last  lecture,  I  contented  myself  with  the  analogies  which 
seemed  to  bear  upon  the  subject  of  our  inquiry,  and  endeavored  to 
prove,  both  from  parallel  phenomena  in  the  lower  departments  of  or- 
ganized creation,  and  from  the  deviations  occasionally  observed  in 
our  own  species,  that  a  strong  probability  existed  in  favor  of  the  va- 
rieties found  in  the  hmnan  race  having  all  sprung  up  from  the  same 
stock  ;  and  I  protnised  on  our  next  meeting  forthwith  to  close  with 
the  question,  and  treat  of  it  more  directly.  I  wish,  therefore,  to 
prove,  that  a  transition  must,  some  time  or  other,  have  taken  place 
in  entire  nations,  from  one  family  to  another.  And,  to  effect  this 
purpose,  I  must  call  in  the  assistance  of  a  new  test,  for  which  our 
two  first  conferences  will  have  prepared  you — the  comparative  study 
of  languages. 

I  suppose  no  one  has  yet  doubted,  or  is  likely  to  doubt,  that  na- 
tions speaking  languages  with  a  strong  affinity  between  them,  must 
17 


130  LECTURE    THE    FOURTH. 

originally  have  been  united  somehow  together.  Even  those  who  de- 
ny the  common  origin  of  the  human  race,  allow  that  identity  or  simi- 
larity, and  particularly,  strong  grammatical  affinity  of  language,  be- 
tween nations  however  distant,  cannot  be  the  result  of  chance,  but 
proves  some  real  connexion  of  origin,  or  early  relationship.  This, 
even  if  it  had  not  been  mathematically  proved  by  Dr.  Young,  as,  on  a 
former  occasion,  I  showed  you,  is  self-evident ;  for  the  relationship 
which  I  exposed  to  you  between  some  languages,  the  Sanskrit,  for  in- 
stance, and  Greek,  cannot  possibly  have  been  the  result  of  accident. 
Hence,  if  two  nations  speak,  and  have  spoken,  as  far  as  history  can 
reach,  dialects  of  the  same  tongue,  we  must  conclude  them  to  have 
had  a  common  origin  ;  unless  one  of  them,  at  least,  can  be  shown  to 
have  changed  its  language,  a  hypothesis  always  requiring  the  strong- 
est evidence.  For,  experience  proves  the  extraordinary  tenacity 
with  which  even  small  communities  keep  hold  of  their  original  lan- 
guage. The  Sette  Comuni,  a  small  German  colony  established,  be- 
1  yond  the  reach  of  historical  documents,  in  the  north  of  Italy,  the 
Greeks  of  Plana  dei  Greci,  near  Palermo,  the  Flemish  clothiers  in 
Wales,  settled  there  for  many  centuries,  all  retain  dialects,  more  or 
less  impure,  of  their  mother  tongue,  and  afford  some  of  the  many 
proofs  which  might  be  brought,  how  difficult  it  is  to  root  out  any  lan- 
guage. 

Having  thus  established  one  fixed  and  unalterable  element,  it  af- 
fords a  certain  test  whether  the  oilier  has  remained  unchanged  ;  or, 
to  speak  more  plainly,  if  identity  of  .speech  infallibly  proves  two  na- 
tions to  have  been  originally  one,  and  yet  they  differ  from  one  anoth- 
er in  physical  characteristics,  to  such  an  extent,  as  to  be  now  classi- 
fied in  different  races,  these  characteristics  must  thereby  be  proved 
liable  to  change,  for  one  of  the  nations  must  have  lost  its  original 
type.  Now,  I  think  it  can  be  proved,  that  the  boundaries  of  the 
two-fold  classification  of  men,  according  to  the  language,  and  ac- 
cording to  form  and  feature,  no  longer  coincide  ;  and  as  they  must 
have  once  run  together,  and  as  that  of  language  has  remained  unva- 
ried, we  must  conclude  that  the  other  has  undergone  a  change.  Nay, 
I  think  we  shall  be  able  to  go  even  further  ;  for  while  no  instance 
has  yet  been  brought,  nor  ever  will,  nor  can  be,  of  any  people,  either 
by  gradual  traTisition,  or  by  voluntary  impulse,  transferring  its  lan- 
guage from  one  family  to  another,  we  may  perhaps  surprise  nature  in 
her  other  order  of  classification,  at  the  moment  of  effecting  a  transi- 
tion from  one  family  to  another,  by  discovering  examples  of  an  inter- 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN.  131 

mediate  state  between   any  two,  or  of  the  processes   whereby  it  has 
sometimes  been  produced. 

In  treating  of  the  athnity  of  languacres,  I  pointed  out  a  remarka- 
ble connexion,  solidly  demonstrated,  between  Hungarian  and  the 
languages  of  northern  Europe,  the  Finnish,  Lapponian,  and  Estho- 
nian  ;  and  an  inspection  of  the  ethnographic  map  will  show  you  how 
it  is  placed,  like  what  geologists  call  outliers  of  peculiar  strata,  as 
a  mass  detached  from  the  gioup  to  which  it  really  belongs.  But 
this  relationship  is  still  more  extensive,  and  includes  the  Tchermisses, 
Votiaks,  Ostiaks,  more  properly  called  As-jachs,  and  Permians,  tribes 
now  inhabiting  the  banks  of  the  Oby,  or  even  more  eastern  parts  of 
Siberia.*  But  while  no  one  doubts  that  all  these  tribes  compose  on- 
ly one  family,  their  physical  traits  are  singularly  distinct.  They  are 
all,  indeed,  remarkable  for  very  low  stature  ;  but  while  several  of 
these  Uralian  and  Tschudish  tribes,  as  the  Laplanders,  Tchermisses, 
Woguls,  and  Hungarians,  have  black  hair  and  brown  eyes,  others, 
as  the  Finns,  Permians,  and  As-jacht^,  have  all,  according  to  Do- 
browsky,  red  hair  and  blue  eyes.t  And  this,  too,  appears  worthy  of 
observation,  that  all  these  tribes  i)elong  to  Blumenbach's  Mongul 
family,  so  do  we  find  the  characteristics  of  this  less  plainly  marked, 
as  we  recede  from  its  great  seat,  and  those  of  the  Germanic  branch 
of  the  Caucasian  family  become  prevalent,  as  we  approach  its  geo- 
graphical centre.  Here  then,  assuredly,  one  portion,  or  the  other, 
of  the  family  must  have  varied  from  its  primitive  type,  so  as  to  over- 
step, to  a  certain  degree,  the  boundary  of  the  race  to  which  it  may 
be  supposed  to  have  belonged. 

Another  change  may  be,  perhaps,  traced  in  the  same  family. 
You  doubtless  remember,  that,  at  our  last  meeting,  I  entered  into 
rather  a  detailed  explanation  of  the  relation  in  wliich  the  Tartars 
and  Monguls  stand  to  each  other,  and  I  observed,  that  the  best  and 
most  modern  writers  on  the  classification  of  languages,  Abel-Remu- 
sat,  Balbi,  Klaproth,  and  Pallas,  place  the  two  languages  in  the  same 
family.  I  observed,  also,  that  their  own  traditions  represent  them  as 
descended  from  two  brothers,  and  that  in  the  eleventh  century,  they 
formed  two  of  a  community  of  four  cognate  tribes.  All  this  would 
surely  seem  to  indicate  a  common  origin,  as  far  as  it  is  traceable  by 


*  These  lanjruages  form  the  Uralian  family,  in  Balbi's  ethno- 
graphy, "  Atlas  Ethnogr."  No.  xv.  See  the  ethnographic  chart  pre- 
fixed to  this  work. 

t  Prichard,  vol.  ii.  p.  266. 


132  LECTURE  THE  FOURTH. 

historical,  traditionary  and  philological  arguments.  And  yet  it  can- 
not be  doubted,  but  that  the  extremes  of  the  two  nations  or  families, 
are  as  dissimilar  as  possible,  and  that  the  Tartars  belong  to  the  Cau- 
casian race.*  It  has  been  sometimes  said,  that  the  Turks  owe  their 
fine  forms  and  heads  to  their  great  mixture  of  Circassian  blood,  in- 
troduced by  their  captive  wives  from  that  country.  But  this  theory 
which  has  been  applied  to  other  similar  cases,  can  hardly  be  sup- 
ported, if  we  consider  that  such  an  infusion  of  foreign  blood  could 
never  reach  the  great  mass  of  the  nation,  but  must  be  confined  to  the 
rich,  who  alone  could  well  be  subject  to  the  operation  of  its  cause. 
I  will  show  you  later,  that  ages  and  ages  of  iniermarriages  have  not 
been  able  to  obliterate  the  characteristic  traits  of  the  two  nations  an- 
ciently occupying  Italy.  But  besides  this,  we  may  observe,  that  the 
Osmanlis  or  Turks  presented  the  same  features,  before  the  luxurious 
reason  assigned  could  well  have  been  in  very  active  operation. f 

But  further,  I  before  observed  that  some  Tartar  tribes,  as 
the  Kirghis,  approach  so  nearly  to  the  Mongul  type,  as  to  form  a  sort 
of  intermediate  step  between  them.  This,  again.  Dr.  Prichard  at- 
tributes to  intermarriages;  but  it  would,  I  think,  be  difficult  to 
establish  the  existence  of  this  cause. 

In  Blumenbach's  collection  of  skulls,  we  have  one  of  a  Yakut 
Tartar,  which  has  all  the  characters  of  the  Mongul  race.t  This 
may  be  only  an  individual  case  ;  but  Dobell  seems  to  allow  that  this 
tribe  of  Tartars  approximate  somewhat  to  the  Monguls.  For  he  ob- 
serves, "  there  are  credible  proofs  to  adduce  of  their  being  descend- 
ed from  the  Monguls,  but  their  most  probable  origin  is  Tartar.  ...  A 
Yakut's  features,  and  the  expression  of  his  countenance,  partake 
more  of  the  Tartar  than  of  the  Mongul  race."§ 


*  See  p.  J  79. 

f  At  least  if  we  suppose  the  custom  to  Iiave  begun  only  after  the 
consolidation  of  Turkish  f)Ovver.  An  old  historian  thus  desciihes  Mo- 
hammed the  Great,  first  etnpeior  of  the  Turks:  "  His  complexion  was 
Tartar-like,  sallow,  juui  melancholy,  as  were  most  of  his  predecessors, 
the  Olhoman  kings;  his  looke  iind  countenance  stenn",  with  his  eyes 
j)iercing,  hollow,  and  a  little  sunk  into  his  head,  and  his  nose  so  high 
and  crooked,  that  it  almost  touched  his  upper  lip." — Knolles,  "  Histo- 
ry of  the  Turks,"  rnh  edit.  p.  433. 

X  "  Decad.  i.  Cranior."  pi.  xv.  \).  JO. 

§  "Travels  in  Kamtchatka  and  Siberia."  Loml.  1830,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
13. 14. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN.  133 

The  race  to  which  we  belong  presents  a  similar  phenomenon. 
Whatever  hypothesis  we  may  choose  to  adopt,  the  prevalence  of  a 
language,  essentially  the  same,  from  India  to  Iceland,  proves  the  in- 
termediate nations  to  be  of  common  origin.  Yet  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Indian  peninsula  differ  from  us  in  color  and  shape,  so  materially  as 
to  be  classified  in  another  race.  Klaproth,  to  account  for  this  cir- 
cumstance, imagines  that  the  Indo-Germanic  nations  were  saved 
from  the  Deluge  on  two  chains  of  mountains,  the  Himalaya  and  the 
Caucasus.  From  the  former,  according  to  him,  descended  the  In- 
dians to  the  south,  and  the  Gotjjs  to  the  north  ;  from  the  other  came 
the  Medes,  Persians,  and  the  Pelasgians.  He  then  supposes  the 
dark  complexion  of  the  Hindoos  to  have  been  produced  by  intermix- 
ture with  a  dusky  race,  who  were  there  before  them,  having  been 
saved  from  the  same  scourge  upon  the  mountains  of  Malabar.*  But 
all  this  is  pure  conjecture,  without  the  slightest  foundation  either  in 
history  or  in  local  tradition  ;  and  has  been  devised  simply  to  escape 
from  the  difficulty,  which  is  more  easily  met  by  allowing  that  a  na- 
tion may  change  its  characteristics,  so  as  to  pass  into  a  different 
family  from  what  its  language  proves  was  its  original  stock. 

These  examples  will,  however,  by  no  means  satisfy  you  that  the 
two  extremes,  the  black  and  the  white  race,  can  never  have  been 
one ;  for  the  red  or  tawny  cannot  be  considered  an  intermediate 
step,  and  we  must  look  for  examples  of  direct  transition  from  one 
extreme  to  the  other  ;  and  this  assuredly  is  the  hardest  knot  we  have 
to  untie  in  this  inquiry.  I  will  not  speak  of  the  great  discussions 
held  by  many  authors  as  to  the  original  color  of  the  human  race  ; 
many,  as  Labat,  considering  it  to  have  been  red  :t  either  because 
the  name  of  the  first  man  signifies,  in  Hebrew,  that  color,  or,  as 
Bishop  Heber  conjectures,  because  undomesticated  animals  tend 
towards  it.|  Blumenbach  supposes  the  original  color  was  white  ; 
and  if  I  might  venture  to  give  an  argument  in  favor  of  this  opinion,  I 
should  say  that  every  departure  from  this  hue,  bears  the  mark  of  an 

*  "In  Indien  hat  sich  derselbe  ganz  niit  friiheren  dunkelfarl)igen 
Bewohern  verriiisclit,  und  seine  S))rache  herschend  gemaclit, dabei  aber 
seine  charakteristischen  physischen  Kennzeichen  eingebiisst.  Die 
brauen  oder  negeratigen  Urbewoliner  von  Indien  retteten  sich  wahr- 
scheinlich,  zur  Zeit  der  Noahischen  Fhith,  auf  die  hohen  Gebirgen  von 
Malabar,  und  den  Ghauts." — Asia  Polygi.  p.  48. 

I  See  Labat,  "Nonvelle  Relation  de  I'Afrique,"  Paris,  1728,  tom.ii. 
]).  257. 

t    Ubi  sup.  vol.  i.  p.  69. 


134  LECTURE  THE  FOURTH. 

excess,  or  of  a  morbid  affection.  Alpinus  has  proved  that  the  seat 
of  the  negro's  color  is  not  in  the  outward  skin,  which  is,  in  him,  as 
colorless  as  in  us,  but  in  the  fine  tissue  situated  under  it,  and  known 
in  anatomy  by  the  name  of  the  tissue  or  net  of  Malpighi.*  This  tis- 
sue in  the  black  is  the  seat  of  a  dark  pigment,  and  in  the  albino  is 
said  to  be  filled  with  cysts  or  small  bags,  containing  a  white  sub- 
stance which  gives  their  peculiar  color :  though  Buzzi  in  his  ac- 
count of  the  examination  of  an  albino  after  death,  says  he  could  find 
no  trace  of  the  tissue  at  all.t  It  would  appear,  therefore,  that  the 
white,  placed  between  two  contrary  deviations,  should  be  the  natural 
or  normal  state. 

The  ancients  took  the  simple  expedient  of  attributing  the  negro's 
color  to  the  action  of  the  sun.  That  climate  taken  in  reference  to 
its  progressive  degrees  of  heat,  has  an  influence  on  the  tint  of  the 
skin,  is  so  far  true,  that  we  see  a  certain  ratio  exist  between  the  two. 
Generally  speaking,  the  whitest  races  are  nearer  the  pole,  and  the 
darkest  are  more  under  the  influence  of  tropical  heal :  and  between 
these  two  extremes  we  may  trace  many  intermediate  steps,  as  from 
the  Dane  to  the  Frenchman  ;  after  whom  may  come  the  Spaniard  or 
Italian,  then  the  Moor,  and  so  the  negro. |  But  this  endeavor  to 
establish  a  chain  of  gradations  in  color  has  to  encounter  two  serious 
difficulties.  First,  in  all  these  degrees,  the  tint  is  too  evidently  the 
result  of  an  outward  action  upon  the  skin,  the  effects  whereof  can  be 
moderated  or  suspended  by  precautions  against  heat.  The  Moorish 
females  who  keep  the  house,  are  almost  perfectly  white ;  but  the  ne- 
gro child  begins  to  become  black  when  ten  days  old,  however  it  may 
be  sheltered  from  the  heat ;  the  action  therefore  in  the  first  case,  is 
merely  from  without,  while  in  the  other  it  consists  in  the  development 
of  some  internal  principle.  Secondly,  directly  opposed  to  this  theo- 
ry of  considering  different  degrees  of  darkness  a  series  of  transitions 
from  the  white  to  the  black,  are  the  startling  facts,  that  the  same 
race  preserves  its  hue  without  sensible  variation  under  the  most  dis- 
tant latitudes,  and  that,  under  the  same  latitude,  the  most  singular 
varieties  occur  apparently  in  the  same  race.  Of  the  first,  the  Amer- 
icans afford  a  most  singular  example.     Whether  on  the  frozen  banks 


*  "De  Sede  et  Causa  Coloris  iEthiopum,"  Leyd.  ]73S. 

f  "  Opera  Scelte,"  Milan,  1784,  torn.  vii.  p.  11. 

\  Such  seems  to  be  the  opinion  maintained  by  Dr.  Hunter,  "  Dis- 
putatio  inau^uralis  qua>daiii  de  hominum  varietatibus,  et  harum  causis 
exponens,"  Edinh.  1775,  [).  26. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN.  135 

of  the  Canadian  lakes,  or  on  the  burning  Pampas  of  the  southern 
peninsula,  hardly  a  shade  of  difference  can  be  discovered  in  the 
complexion  of  the  native  Indians:  the  same  copper-color  distinguish- 
es all  the  tribes.  Of  the  second  we  have  a  no  less  striking  exempli- 
fication in  the  east. 

"  The  great  difference  in  color  between  different  native^,'  says 
Bishop  Heber,  describing  his  first  arrival  at  Calcutta,  "  striii^k  me 
much;  of  the  crowd  by  whom  we  were  surrounded,  some  were  black 
as  negroes,  others  merely  copper-colored,  and  others  little  darker 
than  the  Tunisians  whom  I  have  seen  at  Liverpool.  Mr.  Mill,  the 
principal  of  Bishop's  College,  who  had  come  down  to  meet  me,  and 
who  has  seen  more  of  India  than  most  men,  tells  me  that  he  cannot 
account  for  this  difference,  which  is  general  throughout  the  country, 
and  every  where  striking.  It  is  not  merely  the  difference  of  ex- 
posure, since  this  variety  of  tint  is  visible  in  the  fishermen  who  are 
all  naked  alike.  Nor  does  it  depend  on  caste,  since  very  high  caste 
Brahmins  are  sometimes  black,  while  Pariahs  are  comparatively 
white."*  This  last  observation,  if  it  can  be  completely  depended 
upon,  is  of  great  importance.  For,  as  we  shall  see  on  a  future  oc- 
casion, Heeren  and  others,  guided  by  the  division  into  castes,  have 
imagined  that  India  was  peopled  by  tvvodistinct  nations,  oneof  whom, 
having  conquered  the  other,  reduced  it  to  a  state  of  inferiority  and 
dependence  ;  which  hypothesis  would  be  completely  demonstrated,  if 
a  difference  of  complexion  were  distinguishable  between  the  high 
and  low  castes. 

Thus  far,  you  see,  I  have  only  thrown  doubts  on  the  processes  im- 
agined to  explain  the  black  color  of  the  negro  :  for  though  I  think  it 
depends  upon  climate,  certainly  no  theory  has  been  yet  discovered  to 
account  for  its  origin.  Our  science  is  yet  young,  and  we  must  con- 
tent ourselves  with  collecting  facts  and  drawing  their  natural  infer- 
ences. It  is  therefore  to  these  we  must  appeal ;  and  they  will  suffice 
to  prove  that  such  a  change  may  have  taken  place,  though  whether 
by  accident  or  gradual  deviation,  we  know  not-  I  will  submit  such 
as  I  have  noticed  to  your  consideration. 

The  natives  of  Abyssinia  are  perfectly  black,  and  yet  certainly 
belong  by  origin  to  the  Semitic  family,  and,  consequently  to  a  white 
race.  Their  language  is  but  a  dialect  of  that  class,  and  its  very 
name  intimates  its  having  come  across  the  Red  Sea.  Hence,  in 
Scripture,  the  term  Cash  applies  equally  to  them  and  to  the  inhabi- 

*  Vol.  i.  p.  9. 


136  LECTURE    THE    FOURTH. 

tants  of  the  other  side  ;  and  neither  in  features,  nor  in  the  form  of  the 
skull,  do  they  any  way  resemble  the  negro.  You  may  easily  satisfy 
yourselves,  either  from  portraits,  or  from  living  individuals,  that,  save 
in  color,  their  faces  are  perfectly  European.  Here,  then,  a  change 
has  taken  place,  though  we  know  not  how. 

Another  and  more  striking  example  we  have  in  the  intelligent 
and  accurate  traveller,  Burckhardt.  The  town  of  Souakin,  situated 
on  the  African  coast  of  the  Red  Sea,  lower  down  than  Mecca,  con- 
tains a  mixed  population,  formed,  first  of  Bedouins  or  Arabs,  includ- 
ing the  descendants  of  the  ancient  Turks,  and  secondly  of  the  town's- 
people,  who  are  either  Arabs  from  the  opposite  coast,  or  Turks  of 
modern  origin.*  The  following  is  his  account  of  the  two  classes. 
Of  the  first  he  says  :  The  Hadherebe  or  Bedouins  of  Souakin  have 
exactly  the  same  features,  language,  and  dress,  as  the  Nubian  Be- 
douins. In  general  they  have  handsome  and  expressive  features, 
with  thin  and  very  short  beards.  Their  color  is  of  the  darkest  brown, 
approaching  to  black ;  but  they  have  nothing  of  the  negro  character 
of  countenance. "t  The  others,  who  are  descended  entirely  from 
settlers  from  Mosul,  Hadramout,  etc.  and  from  Turks  sent  thither  by 
Selim,  upon  his  conquest  of  Egypt,  have  undergone  the  same  change. 
"The  present  race,"  says  Burckhardt,  "  have  the  African  features 
and  manners,  and  are  in  no  way  to  be  distinguished  from  the  Had- 
herebe."|  Here  then  we  have  two  distinct  nations,  Arabs  and 
Turks,  in  the  course  of  a  few  centuries,  becoming  black  in  Africa, 
though  originally  white. 

Captain  Tuckey,  speaking  of  the  natives  of  Congo,  says  that  they 
"  are  evidently  a  mixed  nation,  having  no  national  physiognomy,  and 
many  of  them  perfectly  south  European  in  their  features.  This,  one 
would  naturally  conjecture,  arises  from  the  Portuguese  having  inter- 
married with  them,  and  yet  there  are  very  few  mulattoes  among 
them."§  This  observation  completely  overthrows  that  conjecture, 
even  if  admissible  on  other  grounds;  for  an  entire  nation's  physiog- 
nomy could  never  have  been  entirely  changed  by  a  few  settlers.     In 


*  "  Travels  in  Nubia,"  2d  edit.  p.  391. 

t  Page  395. 

I  Page  391.  As  the  Hadherebe  have  not,  according  to  the  first 
quotiUioi),  the  negro  countenance,  I  suppose  by  features  we  must  under- 
stand only  color. 

§  "  Narrative  of  an  Expedition  to  explore  the  River  Zaire,"  Lond. 
1818,  p.  196. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN.  137 

the  general  observations  on  Captain  Tuckey's  voyage,  collected  from 
the  scientific  men  and  officers  who  accompanied  him,  we  are  inform- 
ed that  "  their  features,  though  nearest  to  those  of  the  negro  tribe, 
are  neither  so  strongly  marked  nor  so  black  as  the  Africans  in  gener- 
al. They  are  not  only  represented  as  being  more  pleasing,  but  also 
as  wearing  the  appearance  of  great  simplicity  and  innocence."* 

There  are  many  nations,  not  only  along  the  coast,  but  in  the 
very  heart  of  central  Africa,  who  are  perfectly  of  a  glossy  black,  with- 
out a  sign  of  negro  features.  Among  them  are  the  Foulahs,  whom 
Park  describes  as  "  not  black,  but  of  a  tawny  color,  which  is  lighter 
and  yellower  in  some  States  than  in  otiiers.  They  have  small  fea- 
tures, soft  silky  hair,  without  either  the  thick  lips  or  crisp  wool  which 
are  common  to  other  tribes."t  Jobson  describes  them  as  "  of  a 
tawny  color,  with  long  black  hair,  not  near  so  much  frizzled  as  that 
of  the  negroes."!  Of  the  YolofFs  Mr.  Moore  writes,  that  they  are 
much  blacker  and  handsomer  than  either  the  Mandingos  or  Flups, 
not  having  the  broad  noses  and  thick  lips  peculiar  to  those  nations, 
and  that  none  of  the  inhabitants  of  those  countries  come  up  to  the 
Yoloffs  for  blackness  of  skin  and  beauty  of  features."  The  writer, 
from  whom  I  quote,  adds,  that  travellers  do  not  always  distinguish  the 
Yoloffs,  with  the  same  accuracy  as  Mr.  Moore,  from  the  Mandingos 
and  other  flat-nosed  blacks  among  whom  they  are  mixed  ;  and,  in 
another  place,  describing  the  Mandingos,  he  says,  "  that  they  are  as 
remarkable  for  thick  lips  and  flat  noses,  as  the  Yoloffs  and  Foulahs, 
are  for  handsome  features. "§  Now  this  is  quite  contrary  to  the  ac- 
count given  by  later  travellers  ;  for  Caillie  thus  describes  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Timbuctoo: — "They  are  of  the  ordinary  size,  well-made, 
upright,  and  walk  with  a  firm  step.  Their  color  is  of  a  fine  deep 
black  ;  their  noses  are  a  little  more  aquiline  than  those  of  the  Man- 
dingos, and,  like  them,  they  have  thin  lips  and  dark  eyes."||  This 
contradiction  is,  however,  of  small  moment :  for  any  way,  it^is  evi- 
dent that  the  black  color  has  no  necessary  connexion  with  the  negro 
feature,  but  that  two  races  or  varieties  exist,  equally  black,  but  be- 
longing, by  the  more  important  characteristic  of  the  shape  of  the 
skull  and  features,  to  different  tamilies.     Blumenbach  has,  indeed, 

*  Ibid.  p.  374. 

t  Sumner's  "Records  of  Creation,"  2d.  edit.  vol.  i.  j>.  380. 
X  "New  General  Collection  of  Voyages,"  ut  sup.  p.  262. 
§  Ibid.  pp.  255,  266. 

II  "Travels  through  Central  Africa,"  Lond.  1830,  vol.  ii.  p.  61. 
18 


138  LECTURE    THE    FOURTH. 

remarked,  in  vague  terms,  the  existence  of  tliese  two  classes  in 
Africa,  the  one  negro  in  every  respect,  the  other  black,  but  with 
l)andsome  and  perfectly  European  features ;  but  he  calls  them  all 
indiscriminately  Ethiopians,  and  has  made  no  provision  for  a  distinct 
classification.* 

This  difference  will  perhaps  appear  more  remarkable,  if  I  am 
correct  in  another  observation.  I  think  we  shall  in  general  find,  that 
those  tribes  which  are  described  as  not  having  the  negro  features, 
but  only  the  black  color,  are  raised  a  degree  in  civilization  above 
their  neighbors,  and  profess  some  religion  claiming  a  revelation, — as 
the  Abyssinians  a  very  corrupt  Christianity,  the  natives  of  Congo 
some  remnants  of  it,  and  all  others  the  Mohammedan  religion ; 
whereas,  those  that  have  the  negro  characteristics  to  their  fullest  ex- 
tent, as  the  Dahometans,  Caffres,  or  Hottentots,  are  in  the  lowest 
state  of  moral  and  physical  degradation,  and  profess  some  miserable 
system  of  fetichism  or  idolatry.  Now,  if  craniology  have  any  foun- 
dation— and  even  its  warmest  opponents  must,  1  think,  allow  regard- 
ing it,  Bossuet's  axiom,  that  "  every  error  is  a  truth  abused," — the 
depression  of  forehead,  and  compression  of  temples,  which  is  the 
negro  distinctive  in  Blumenbach's  system,  would  be  precisely  indica- 
tive of  that  degraded  condition.  And  thus  we  should  have  two  dis- 
tinct causes  :  features  would  depend  upon  civilization,  and  color 
mainly  upon  climate. 

For,  regarding  the  influence  of  the  latter,  this  extraordinary  cir- 
cumstance, that  ever-y  nation,  however  various,  that  is  found  in  the 
torrid  climate  of  Africa — taking  climate  in  its  widest  sense,  as  in- 
cluding the  character  of  the  tracts  inhabited — should  have  put  on  the 
sun's  dusky  livery,  seems  to  warrant  the  conclusion,  that  this  charac- 
teristic is  attributable  to  the  region  which  they  all  inhabit.  The 
effect  may  not  proceed  from  the  direct  outward  action  of  the  sun's 
rays;  but,  as  it  has  been  proved  by  Le  Cat,  Camper,  and  Lawrence,! 
that  the  skin  of  the  fairest  European  may,  under  certain  circumstan- 
ces, become  as  black  as  a  negro's  over  the  whole,  or  a  great  part,  of 
the  body,  so  may  we  suppose  that  the  principle  which  causes  this 
change,  and   which  is  evidently  inherent  in  the  white,  may,  under 


*  "  Deeas,  Craii."  i.  \i.  23. 

f  Le  Cat,  "  Tniite  de  la  couieur  de  la  peau  hinnainr,"  Amsl.  \}. 
130;  Camper,  "  Dissertat,  physique,"  p.  ]G  ;  Lawrence,  "liPClureson 
Physioloiry,  etc."  p.  5'2"2.  It  is  a  phenoinenoii  oi)s;'rved  mostly  in  fe- 
males duriiig  gestation. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN.  139 

the  influence  of  peculiar  climate,  be  brought  into  activity,  and  ren- 
dered perpetual  by  descent. 

And,  before  Jaaving  the  soil  of  Africa,  I  will  give  an  example  of 
what  may  be,  perhaps,  considered  a  state  of  transition.  Burckhardt 
has  described  the  savage  population  of  Mahass,  as  having  character- 
istics intermediate  between  those  of  the  negroes  and  the  Nubians  : — 
"  In  color  they  are  perfectly  black,  their  lips  are  like  those  of  the 
negro,  but  not  the  nose  or  cheek-bone."* 

Opposed  to  these  facts,  others  may  indeed  be  brought,  which  are 
often  popularly  cited.  It  is  observed,  that  the  descendants  of  French, 
English,  and  Portuguese  settlers,  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  have  re- 
mained unchanged  after  many  generations,  while  the  negroes  in 
North  America,  after  several  centuries,  are  still  negroes. t  And,  to 
add  a  new  example,  Burckhardt  twice  mentions  the  descendants  of 
Bosnian  soldiers,  left  by  Selim  in  Nubia,  who  yet  retain  the  features, 
though  they  have  forgotten  the  language  of  their  native  country. 

Much  of  this,  or  all,  may  be  true,  but  what  does  it  prove,  when 
placed  by  the  side  of  the  facts  I  have  quoted?  Why,  only,  that  the 
operation  of  causes  is  yet  unknown  to  us  ;  that  we  cannot  discover 
the  law  whereby  nature  acts  ;  that  there  are  two  series  of  fiicts,  each 
true,  but  neither  confuting  the  other.  I  wish  only  to  show  that  the 
observation  of  modern  philosophers  tends  to  demonstrate  that  such  a 
a  change  ma]/  have  taken  place,  not  that  it  must  take  place.  One 
instance  is  sufficient  to  prove  the  first  assertion,  whereas  it  might  re- 
quire some  thousands  to  damonstrate  the  second. 

But  let  us  enter  more  minutely  into  the  objection.  We  are  cred- 
ibly informed,  that  in  some  parts  of  India,  the  descendants  of  Euro- 
peans long  ago  settled  there,  have  totally  changed  their  color,  though 
of  course,  not  their  features.  "  It  is  remarkable,  however,  to  ob- 
serve," says  an  author  whom  I  have  already  often  quoted,  "  how 
surely  all  these  classes  of  men"  (Persians,  Greeks,  Tartars,  Turks, 
and  Arabs,)  "in  a  few  p  uerations,  even  without  any  intermarriage 
with  the  Hindoos,  assume  the  deep  olive  tint,  little  less  dark  than 
the  negro,  which  seems  natural  to  the  climate.  The  Portuguese  na- 
tives form  unions  among  themselves  alone,  or,  if  they  can,  with  Eu- 
ropeans. Yet  the  Portuguese  have,  during  a  three  hundred  years' 
residence  in  India,  become  as  black  as  Caffres.     Surely  this  goes 

*  Ubi  sup.  p.  53. 

t  "  Description  de  la  Nigritie,"  ut  sup.  p.  56.     Labot,  torn  ii.  p.  255. 


^l 


140  LECTURK    THE    FOURTH. 

far  to  disprove  the  assertion  which  is  sometimes  made,  that  climate 
alone  is  insufficient  to  account  for  the  difference  between  the  negro 
and  the  European.  It  is  true  tliat  in  the  negro  are  other  peculiari- 
ties, which  the  Indians  have  not,  and  to  which  the  Portuguese  colo- 
nist shows  no  system  (symptoms  7)  of  approximation.  .  .  .  But,  if 
heat  produces  one  change,  other  peculiarities  of  climate  may  pro- 
duce other  and  additional  changes ;  and  when  such  peculiarities 
have  three  or  four  thousand  years  to  operate  in,  it  is  not  easy  to  fix 
any  limits  to  their  power."*  This  reasoning  is,  indeed,  defective, 
inasmuch  as  the  negro  features  were  fixed  as  early  as  the  days  of 
Herodotus  or  Homer,  or  even  much  earlier,  as  appears  from  Egyp- 
tian monuments  ;  and  climate  will  not  account  for  the  cases  I  have 
given  of  tribes,  under  the  same  latitude,  and  on  the  same  soil,  hav- 
ing totally  different  characteristics.  But  still  the  fact  contained  in 
this  passage  is  valuable,  as  it  shows  that  transition  may  take  place 
from  the  white  to  the  black  color. 

In  like  manner,  Long,  in  his  history  of  Jamaica,  and  Edwards, 
in  his  history  of  the  West  Indies,  have  both  remarked  that  the  skulls 
of  the  white  settlers  in  those  countries  differ  sensibly  in  shape  from 
those  of  Europe,  and  approach  to  the  original  American  configura- 
tion. Dr.  Prichard  likewise  asserts  upon  good  authority,  that  the 
third  generation  of  those  slaves  in  the  United  States  who  live  in 
houses,  have  little  left  of  the  depressed  nose,  and  their  mouth  and 
lips  become  more  moderate  ;  while  their  hair  grows  longer  at  each 
succeeding  generation.  The  field  slaves,  on  the  contrary,  retain 
much  longer  their  original  form.t  Caldani  has  given  an  instance  of 
a  black  shoe-maker,  who  having  been  brought  very  young  to  Venice, 
had  so  far  changed  his  color,  as  to  be  no  darker  than  a  European  af- 
fected with  a  slight  jaundice  ;  and  in  this  case  he  speaks  from  person- 
al observation.! 

The  important  remark  I  just  quoted  from  Dr.  Piichard  is  highly 
interesting  ;  and  will,  I  doubt  not,  be  much  further  confirmed  by  ac- 
curate observation.  It  brings  me  back  to  the  consideration  of  the 
influence  exercised  by  civilization  upon  the  characteristics  of  a  race. 
Cuvier  has  noticed  that  servitude  or  domestication  is  the  most  pow- 
erful agent  yet  discovered   for  producing  modifications  in  animals, 


*  "  Heber's  Narrative,"  vol.  i.  p.  G8.  f  Vol.  ii.  p.  565. 

I  "  Inslitutiones  i)hysio]ogii'tc,  auctore  L.  M.  Caldanio,"  Ven.  1786, 
p.  151. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  OF   MAN.  141 

and  the  greatest  variety  yet  obtained  was  procured  by  its  means.* 
Civilization  comes  nearest  to  this  agent  in  man,  and  must  be  even 
stronger,  from  its  moral  influence.  There  is  no  doubt  but  the  mode 
of  life,  the  food  and  comforts,  and  the  degree  of  mental  culture  en- 
joyed, produce  a  strong  and  permanent  effect  on  different  nations. 
A  late  traveller  in  Syria  has  noted  the  great  difference  observable 
between  the  Bedouins  and  the  Fellahs  of  the  Hauran.  The  first,  or 
wandering  Arabs,  ever  exposed  to  hardships,  and  the  fatigues  of  a 
roaming,  active  life,  are  slightly  shaped,  and  have  a  small  face  and 
thin  beard.  The  latter,  or  sedentary  Arabs,  are  stout  and  large, 
have  a  strong  beard,  but  want  the  keen  looks  of  their  brethren  of 
the  desert.  Yet  there  can  be  no  question  but  that  these  two  classes 
are  in  reality  only  one  nation,  speaking  the  same  language,  and  in- 
habiting the  same  climate.  What  then  causes  the  difference  be- 
tween them  ?  No  doubt  their  different  modes  of  life ;  for  this  accu- 
rate observer  adds,  that  till  the  age  of  sixteen  no  difference  can  be 
perceived  between  them.t  In  another  work  he  says  that  equal  dif- 
ference is  to  be  seen  in  their  dispositions.! 

Mr.  Jackson  notes  the  same  difference  between  the  Arabs  who 
inhabit  towns  in  Morocco,  and  the  Bedouins  who  dwell  in  tents. 
"  The  Selluks  of  Haha,"  says  he,  "  are  physiognomically  distin- 
guishable from  the  Arabs  of  the  plains,  and  even  from  the  Selluks  of 
Susa,  though  in  their  language,  manners,  and  mode  of  living,  they 
resemble  the  latter. "§  Nay,  even  among  the  Bedouins  themselves, 
Volney  has  observed  that  a  marked  difference  is  discernible  between 
the  people  and  their  sheikhs  or  princes,  who  being  better  fed,  are 
taller,  stouter,  and  better-favored  than  their  poorer  subjects,  who 
subsist  on  six  ounces  of  food  a  day.||  Forster  has  remarked  a  simi- 
lar distinction  in  Tahiti.  "  The  common  people,"  says  he,  "  who 
are  most  exposed  to  the  air  and  sun,  exert  their  strength  in  agricul- 
ture, fishing,  paddling,  building  houses  and  canoes,  and  are  stinted 


*  In  his  "  Discours  pr61iminaire."  See  likewise  BUimenbach,  in 
his  chapter  entitled  "  Ansartung  des  volkominensten  aller  Hausthiere, 
des  Menschen,"  in  his  "Beytrage  zur  Naturgeschichte,"  i.  Th.  Gotting. 
1790,  p.  47. 

f  Burckhardt's  Travels  in  Syria.  Not  having  at  hand  the  English 
edition,  I  translate  from  the  German  version,  Weimar,  1823,  i.  Th.  p.  456. 

\  "Notes  on  the  Bedouins  and  Wababees,"  Lond.  1830,  p.  104. 

§  "An  account  of  the  Empire  of  Morocco,"  Lond.  1811,  p.  18. 

II  "  Voyage  en  Egypte  et  en  Syrie,"  Par.  1787,  torn.  i.  p.  359, 


H-^  l,ECTUnE    THE    FOURTH. 

in  their  food,  are  blacker,  their  hair  more  woolly  and  crisp,  their 
bodies  low  and  slender.  But  their  chiefs  and  arees  have  a  dif- 
ferent appearance.  The  color  of  their  skins  is  less  tawny  than  that 
of  the  Spaniard,  and  not  so  coppery  as  that  of  an  American  ;  it  is  of 
a  lighter  tint  than  the  fairest  complexion  of  an  inhabitant  of  the  East 
India  islands.  From  this  complexion  we  find  all  the  intermediate 
hues,  down  to  a  lively  brown,  bordering  upon  the  black.  A  few 
have  yellowish,  brown,  or  sandy  hair."*  Kotzebue,  and  other  later 
navigators,  have  made  the  same  observation ;  but  it  seems  clear  that 
the  Yeris  or  noble  race  of  the  Sandwich  and  other  Polynesian  isl- 
ands, are  really  a  distinct   tribe  from  the  common  people. t 

Both  Pallas  and  Klaproth  have  expressed  an  opinion,  that  the  Mon- 
gul  complexion  seems  to  depend  much  upon  the  habits  of  that  race. 
The  children  and  women  are  remarkably  white  :  smoke  and  expos- 
ure to  the  sun  give  the  men  their  yellow  tint.|  Though  much  might 
be  urged  against  this  hypothesis,  it  may  serve  to  draw  more  atten- 
tion to  the  bearing  which  habits  and  civilization  may  have  upon  the 
characteristics  of  different  races.  With  the  same  view  I  would  no- 
lice  the  remarkable  alteration  which  has  occurred  in  the  Germanic 
family.  For  we  have  seen  that  its  traits  were  once  so  marked,  that 
it  was  made  to  constitute  one  of  the  great  and  most  strongly  char- 
acterized divisions  of  the  human  species,  forming  to  the  eye  of  the 
Greek,  a  perfect  contrast  with  the  swarthy  hue  of  the  Ethiopian. 
Yet  these  distinctives,  if  not  totally  effaced,  are  now  become  so  faint, 
as  to  be  hardly  traceable  ;  doubtless  through  the  influence  of  civili- 
zation, and  the  assimilation  of  that  nation's  manners  to  those  of  oth- 
ers belonging  to  the  same  family. 

Perhaps  the  most  extraordinary  illustration  of  the  permanent  influ- 
fluence  of  habits  upon  the  different  races,  may  be  drawn  from  the  teeth. 
Blumenbach  has  observed  that  the  teeth  of  man  show  him  manifest- 
ly to  be  an  omnivorous  animal.  But  in  some  nations,  probably  from 
the  use  of  food  requiring  great  mastication,  the  incisors  become  blunt 
and  rounded,  and  the  canine  teeth  are  undistinguishable  from  the 
grinders.      This  is   the  case  with  many,  perhaps  most,  Egyptian 

*  "Observations  made  durinc;  a  Voyage  round  the  world,"  Lond. 
1 1778,  p.  229.  See  also  Anson's  Voyage  round  the  World,  1777,  vol.  i. 
p.  305. 

f  Kotzebue's  "New  Voyage  round  the  World,"  Lond.  1830,  vol.  ii. 
p.  58. 

i  Pallas,  ubi  sup.  Klaproth,  "  Voyage  au  Caucase,"  torn.  i.  p.  73. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  MAN.  143 

mummies,  and  with  the  Greenlanders  and  Esquimaux,  who  eat  their 
meat  uncooked,  with  most  extraordinary  contortions  of  jaw.* 

These  examples  may  suffice,  instead  of  many,  to  show  what  an 
important  element,  difference  of  habit  is  ;  for  nature,  always  tending 
to  adapt  her  laws  to  particular  circumstances,  where  the  general 
harmony  will  not  be  disturbed,  seems,  after  a  time,  to  perpetuate  va- 
rieties produced  by  this  accidental  cause. 

There  are  many  other  physiological  observations  and  objections 
connected  with  the  unity  and  origin  of  the  negro  and  white  races, 
which  I  pass  over,  as  they  are  hardly  of  a  nature  to  be  interesting  to 
you.t  I  will  therefore  at  once  proceed  to  sum  up  the  results  of  this 
study  as  briefly  as  possible.     I  have  endeavored  to  connect  and  lay 

*  "De  generis  huinaui  varietate,"  pp.  27,224. 

f  I  will  simply  mention  in  a  note  one  argument,  both  as  a  sample 
of  the  strange  expedients  to  which  recourse  has  been  had  by  writers 
on  these  subjects,  and  because  I  am  not  aware  that  any  one  has  taken 
the  troul)]e  to  answer  it.  I  allude  to  Virey's  objection  to  unity  of  race, 
drawn  iVoui  Fabricius's  accurate  observations  on  the  pediculus  nigrila- 
ruin,  as  the  parasite  insect  of  the  negro  has  been  scientifically  called, 
as  specifically  distinct  from  all  others  ;  so  that,  according  to  him,  the 
black  race  which  it  accompanies,  must  have  been  also  distinct  from  the 
beginning.  (Tom.  i.  p.  391.)  In  re[)ly  to  this,  I  will  content  myself 
with  saying,  that  there  are  other  instances  of  a  parallel  nature,  where 
we  cannot  account  for  the  existence  of  the  smaller  tribes  of  animals  be- 
fore their  present  seats  and  nourishment  existed.  For  instance,  the 
tinea,  or  moth  which  attacks  dressed  wool,  never  touches  it  when  it  is 
unwashed  ;  where  did  it  exist  before  the  wool  was  washed  and  combed  .' 
Are  we  to  consider  washed  and  unwashed  wool  two  different  species,  be- 
cause the  same  animal  will  not  live  in  hoth  .'  The  \arv a.  o£  the  oinopota  cel- 
laris  will  live  nowfiere  but  in  wine  or  beer;  another  insect  described  by 
Reaimiin-,  now  disdains  ail  food  but  4i|tt  chocolate.  (See  Kirby  and 
Spence's  "  Introd.  to  Entomology,"  4th  edit.  vol.  i.  |)p.  384,888.)  How 
or  where  did  these  little  creatures  live,  before  what  is  now  their  exclu- 
sive nourishment  was  tnanufactured  ;  for  no  one  will  suppose  that  these 
substances  were  ever  found,  ready  made  i)ythe  hand  of  nature.  These 
cases  are  exactly  parallel  to  the  one  objected  ;  but  there  is  an  instance 
perfectly  similar,  of  an  insect  which  produces  disease  in  tame  swine, 
but  is  never  found  in  the  wild,  though  acknowledged  to  be  the  original 
Slock.  "  Der  Finenwurm  in  Schweinfieisch"  says  Blumenhach,  "  ist, 
in  seiner  Art,  ein  eben  so  vollkommenes  Thier  als  der  Mensch.  Nun 
aber  findet  sich,  so  viel  bekannt,  dieses  Thier  bios  beym  zahmen  Hau- 
schwein,  und  niemablen  hingegen  bey  der  wilden  San,  von  der  doch 
jenes  abstammt."  (Beytrage  zur  Naturgeschichte,  i.  Th.  p.  30.)  See 
also  some  curious  remarks  on  this  subject  liy  Tilesius,  in  the  "  M6- 
moires  de  I'Academie  de  St.  Petersbourg,  tom.  v.  1815,  p.  452. 


144  LECTURE  THE  FOURTH. 

before  you,  what  I  think  may  be  considered  its  admitted  results, 
imperfect  as  it  yet  remains.  We  have  seen  it  well  established  : 
first,  that  among  animals  acknowledged  to  be  of  one  species,  there 
have  arisen  varieties  similar  to  those  in  the  human  race,  and  not  less 
diverse  from  one  another.  Secondly,  that  nature  tends,  in  the  hu- 
man species,  to  produce  varieties  in  one  race  approaching  to  the 
characteristics  of  the  others.  Thirdly,  that  sporadic  varieties  of  the 
most  extraordinary  sort,  may  be  propagated  by  descent.  Fourthly, 
that  we  can  find  sufficient  proofs  in  the  languages  and  in  the  charac- 
teristics of  larger  bodies,  or  entire  nations  compared,  of  their  transi- 
tion from  one  race  to  another.  Fifthly,  that  though  the  origin  of  the 
black  race  is  yet  involved  in  mystery,  yet  are  there  sufficient  facts  col- 
lected to  prove  the  possibility  of  its  having  arisen  from  another,  par- 
ticularly if,  in  addition  to  the  action  of  heat,  we  admit  that  of  moral 
causes  acting  upon  the  physical  organization. 

And  here  I  will  remark  that  we  are  often  precipitate  and  unjust, 
in  judging  of  the  past  by  causes  now  in  action.  It  is  indeed  true 
that  nature  is  constant  and  regular  in  her  operations  ;  but,  if  in  the 
short  course  of  our  experience,  or  that  of  past  observers,  no  variation 
may  have  been  noted  in  the  uniformity  of  her  workings,  it  is  that  the 
little  segment  of  our  duration's  cycle  over  which  we  and  they  have 
travelled,  is  but  as  a  straight  line,  an  infinitesimal  element,  whose 
curvature  can  only  appear,  when  referred  to  a  much  larger  portion  of 
her  circumference.  That  besides  the  partial  laws  with  which  we  are 
acquainted,  there  have  been  others  once  most  active,  whose  agency 
is  now  either  suspended  or  concealed,  the  study  of  the  world  must 
easily  convince  us.  There  were  times,  within  the  verge  of  mytho- 
thological  history,  when  volcanoes  raged  in  almost  every  chain  of 
mountains,  when  lakes  dried  up,  or  suddenly  appeared,  in  many  val- 
leys, when  seas  burst  over  their  boundaries  and  created  new  islands, 
or  retired  from  their  beds  and  increased  old  continents  ;  when,  in 
fine,  there  was  a  power  of  production  and  arrangement  on  a  great, 
magnificent  scale,  when  nature  seemed  employed  not  merely  in  the 
yearly  renovation  of  plants  and  insects,  but  in  the  procreation  from 
age  to  age  of  the  vaster  and  more  massive  elements  of  ^her  sphere  ; 
when  her  task  was  not  confined  to  the  embroidering  the  meadows  in 
the  spring,  or  to  the  paring  away  of  shores  by  the  slow  eating  action  of 
tides  and  currents,  but  when  she  toiled  in  the  great  laboratories  of  the 
earth,  upheaving  mountains,  and  displacing  seas,  and  thus  giving  to 
the  world  its  great  indelible  features.     And  how  are  we  to  account 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN.  145 

for  this,  but  by  supposing  in  nature  a  two-fold  action,  one  regular 
from  the  beginning,  and  uniform  to  the  end,  the  other  a  mysterious 
slow-moving  power,  which  though  revolving  on  the  same  plane,  trav- 
els over  it  with  an  imperceptible  motion,  proportioned  to  the  wants 
of  the  entire  system.  And  in  other  cases,  and  on  a  smaller  scale, 
such  should  seem  to  be  the  course  of  nature.  In  the  child,  the  cir- 
culation of  the  blood,  the  absorbing  and  digestive  operations,  all  the 
functions  of  life,  are  the  same  as  in  man  ;  with  variations  only  as  to 
degree  of  activity,  they  commence  with  being,  and  are  regular 
through  its  duration.  But  in  its  earlier  stages  there  is,  besides,  a 
plastic  virtue  at  work  within  us,  traceable  to  no  law  of  necessity,  hav- 
ing no  clear  dependence  on  the  general  course  of  the  ordinary  vital 
powers,  which  gives  growth  and  solidity  to  the  limbs,  characteristic 
shape  to  the  features,  gradual  development  and  strength  to  the 
muscles ;  then  to  all  appearance  sinks  into  inertness  and  ceases  to 
act,  till  age  seems  once  more  to  call  the  extraordinary  laws  into  activity, 
to  efface  the  impression,  and  undo  the  work,  of  their  earlier  opera- 
tions. And  in  like  manner,  we  must  allow  that  in  the  world's  infan- 
cy, besides  the  regular  ordinances  of  constant  and  daily  course, 
causes  necessary  to  produce  great  and  permanent  effects  may  have 
had  a  power,  now  no  longer  wanted,  and  consequently  no  longer  ex- 
ercised ;  that  there  was  a  tendency  to  stamp  more  marked  features 
upon  the  earth  and  its  inhabitants,  to  produce  countries  as  well  as 
their  vegetation,  races  as  much  as  individuals. 

There  are  instances  certainly  as  yet  discoverable,  of  a  two-fold 
action  of  one  cause,  upon  a  smaller  and  a  greater  scale.  An  epi- 
demic disease,  for  instance,  besides  its  particular  action  upon  individ- 
uals, runs  a  similar  course,  only  referable  to  large  communities  or  ag- 
gregations of  men,  or  even  to  the  entire  human  race;  is  first  slight 
in  its  public  infliction,  then  increases,  and  so  by  contrary  gradations 
yields  to  nature  or  art,  and  wears  itself  away  ;  even  in  such  sort,  that 
at  the  period  or  crisis  of  greater  fatality,  the  lot  of  each  patient  shall 
seem  rather  to  depend  upon  some  mysterious  law,  which  connects  him 
with  the  infected  community,  than  upon  the  individual  circumstan- 
ces of  his  peculiar  case.  And,  in  a  somewhat  similar  manner,  we 
may  say,  that  the  daily  and  yearly  courses  of  nature,  which  appear 
so  identical  throughout,  are  yet  but  components  of  a  much  longer  pe- 
riod, at  the  end  of  which  an  action,  now  so  small  as  to  be  invisible 
will,  by  the  aggregation  of  its  effects,  appear  great  and  importan 
19 


146  LECTURE  THE  FOURTH. 

and  seem  to  have  been  ])roduced  by  laws,  now  hidden  in  the  com- 
plex machinery  of  the  universe. 

And,  to  apply  still  further  the  illustration  I  before  gave  ;  when 
any  part  of  the  human  system  has  been  so  far  altered,  that  the  power 
which  acted  in  its  infancy  again  is  needed,  though  apparently  sus- 
pended, there  are  hidden  resources  which  recall  it  into  action ;  so 
that,  when  any  portion  of  the  bony  structure  has  been  removed,  there 
is  again  wrought  to  reproduce  it,  that  marvellous  weaving  which 
shoots  its  threads,  like  a  crystallization,  from  point  to  point,  and  then 
stretches  across  it  a  firm  and  solid  texture,  just  as  occurred  many 
years  before  in  childhood.  And  just  so  do  we  see,  that  when,  by 
accidental  circumstances,  nature  can  be  brought  back  to  her  primi- 
tive position,  she  resumes  her  primitive  action,  and  renews  the  laws 
she  had  held  suspended.  The  production  of  coral  reefs,  and,  from 
them  islands,  in  the  South  Sea,  which  soon  receive  a  population 
from  distant  points,  shows  us  in  that  last  corner  to  which  she  seems  to 
have  withdrawn  her  creative  powers,  how  she  once  prepared  new 
habitations  for  man  ;  the  incredible  scale  on  which  the  inhabitants 
increase  on  such  occasions,  far  beyond  the  calculations  of  modern 
statistics,  proves  what  powerful  energies  she  exerted  when  wanted  to 
propagate  the  human  race.  An  island  first  occupied  by  a  few  ship- 
wrecked English  in  1589,  and  discovered  by  a  Dutch  vessel  in 
1667,  is  said  to  have  been  found  peopled,  after  eighty  years,  by 
12,000  souls,  all  the  descendants  of  four  mothers.*  Acosta,  wri- 
ting the  natural  history  of  New  Spain,  within  a  hundred  years  of  its 
discovery,  tells  us,  that  there  were  even  earlier,  "  men  who  had 
70,000  or  100,000  sheep,  and  that,  even  then,  were  many  who  had 
as  many  ;  which  in  Europe  would  be  considered  great  riches,  but 
there,  is  only  moderate  wealth."  And  yet,  not  one  of  these  animals 
existed  in  the  country  before  its  discovery,  and  the  breed  was  propa- 
gated entirely  from  those  imported  by  the  Spaniards.  The  same  is 
to  be  said  of  horned  cattle  ;  yet  such  vvas  their  increase,  that,  in  his 
time,  they  went  roaming  in  herds  of  thousands  over  the  plains  and 
mountains  of  Hispaniola,  and  were  the  property  of  whoever  chose  to 
hunt  them  down  with  houghing-knives,  ( desjarrctoderas,)  and  cut 
them  down ;  and  so  profitable  was  this  chase,  that,  in  1585,  the  fleet 


*  Bullet,  "  Rt-iionses  critiques,"  Bcsanc.  1819.  vol.  ill.  p.  45. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN.  147 

brought  over  from  that  island  35,444  hides,  and  from  New  Spain 
64,350,  showing  an  increase  quite  beyond  all  ordinary  calculation* 

Such  examples,  to  which  I  might  add  many  others,  seem  to  show 
the  existence  of  hidden  resources  in  nature,  never  called  forth,  save 
in  her  infant  state.  And  it  surely  cannot  be  unphilosophical  to  sup- 
pose, that  impressions,  meant  to  be  characteristic  and  permanent, 
were  then  more  easily  communicated,  and  more  indelibly  stamped. 
We  need  not,  with  Carove,  have  recourse  to  the  hypothesis  that  the 
black  color  of  the  negro  was  the  mark  set  upon  Cain,  and  that  it  was 
continued  after  the  Deluge  in  the  family  of  Japhet,  whom  he  sup- 
poses to  have  married  into  that  stock. t  The  admission  of  such  a 
hypothesis  gains  us  but  little,  for  we  have  still  the  color  of  the  Ameri- 
cans and  Malays  to  account  for.  But  it  is  much  more  simple  to  al- 
low, that  one  individual,  or  one  family,  placed  in  favorable  circum- 
stances, may  have  given  rise  to  peculiarities,  which,  in  consequence 
of  intermarriages,  and  the  continued  operation  of  the  same  circum- 
stances, may  have  become  enduring. 

But  we  too  indulge  here  in  conjecture.  I  am  willing  to  own  it ; 
for  though  sufficient  has  been  said,  to  prove  that  our  science  already 
can  refute  all  solid  objection  to  the  unity  of  race  in  the  human  spe- 
cies, although  the  admitted  facts  which  I  have  laid  before  you,  may 
show  that  there  is  no  impossibility  of  one  family  having  sprung  up 
from  theother,  yet  we  must  own  that  the  methods  whereby  nature 
has  proceeded,  are  yet  a  mystery  ;  so  that  the  philosopher  must  be 
content  with  conjecture,  and  honestly  confess  : 

Ol'x  oiS'  uxQi^wg,  tlxaaat,  ds/jsv  7tu(jci.I 

Nor  can  such  conjecture  be  refused  as  rash  and  unwarrantable,  so 
long  as  the  fact  which  they  are  directed  to  account  for,  is  certain  and 
incontestable. 

And  I  will  conclude  the  evidence  upon  this  subject,  by  once 
more  recapitulating  the  connexions  of  the  different  races,  and  the 
insensible  shades  whereby  they  seem  to  blend  one  into  another. 

*  Acosta,  "  Historia  natural  y  moral  de  las  Indias,"  Barcelona, 
1591,  fol.  180. 

f  •'  Kosmorama,  eine  Reihe  von  Studien  zur  orientirung  in  Natur," 
etc.  Frank/.  ]8fil,  p,  65.  He  does  indeed  suppose  them  to  be  of  a 
mixed  race,  between  the  Sethites,  represented  by  Sliem,  and  the  Cain- 
ites,  continued  in  Japhet. 

t  "  Eurip.  Rhes."  Act.  ii.  280. 


148  LECTURE  THE  FOURTH. 

The  white  race,  which  of  course  I  consider  the  central  one,  con- 
nects itself  with  the  Mongul  through  the  Finns  and  Asjachs,  who 
have  its  complexion,  hair,  and  iris  ;  likewise  through  the  Tartars, 
who  insensibly  pass  through  the  Kirghis  and  Yakuts  into  the  Mongul 
race  ;  and  thirdly,  through  the  Hindoos,  who  communicate  with  us 
through  the  Sanskrit  language.  With  the  negro  race  it  is  connected 
through  the  Abyssinians,  who  have  a  Semitic  language  and  Europe- 
an features,  and  through  the  Arabs  of  Suakin,  who  resemble  the 
Noubas;  then  come  the  natives  of  Mahass,  then  the  Foulahs  and 
Mandingos,  and  so  forward  to  the  Congoese,  the  complete  negroes, 
and  the  Hottentots.  These  last  are  again  closely  allied  to  the  moun- 
taineers of  Madagascar,  they  to  those  of  Cochin-China,  the  Moluccas, 
and  Philippine  islands,  in  all  which  are  a  race  of  black  woolly-headed 
mountaineers,  differing  in  language  from  the  other  natives.  These 
again  join  the  New  Hollanders,  and  the  natives  of  New  Caledonia 
and  the  New  Hebrides,  who  are  further  connected  by  similarity  of 
customs,  religion,  and  partly  by  physical  traits,  with  the  New  Zeal- 
anders,  and  other  natives  of  Polynesia,  and  so  in  fading  tints,  till  we 
almost  return  to  the  Asiatic  families. 

The  population  of  these  islands  deserves  a  more  particular  atten- 
tion. I  have  observed,  that  through  the  innumerable  islands  of 
Polynesia,  there  are  two  distinct  tribes  or  families.  Forster,  in* fact, 
proves  this  point  incontestably.  While  the  inhabitants  of  Tahiti,  and 
New  Zealand,  the  Marquesas,  Friendly,  and  Society  Islands,  speak 
but  dialects  of  the  same  language,  as  is  proved  by  his  comparative 
tables,  those  of  the  New  Hebrides,  especially  Mallicollo,  New^^^Cale- 
donia,  and  Tanna,  speak  barbarous  dialects,  quite  distinct,  and,  to 
all  appearance,  unconnected.  Their  physical  characteristics  are 
likewise  very  different,  approaching,  as  I  have  intimated,  to  the  ne- 
groes of  the  more  western  islands.  But  what  I  wish  principally  to 
remark  is,  how  the  tribes  belonging  to  the  first  race,  the  unity  of 
which  no  one  will  deny,  have  varied,  on  one  side,  in  form  and  com- 
plexion, to  such  an  immense  extent,  and  how  those  of  the  other  have 
likewise  departed  so  much  from  their  original  type,  that  the  two  have 
blended  together,  so  as  to  be  hardly  distinguishable,  excepting  by 
their  languages.  "  Each  of  the  above  two  races,"  says  Dr.  Forster, 
"  is  again  divided  into  several  varieties,  which  form  the  gradations 
towards  the  other  race  ;  so  that  we  find  some  of  the  first  race  almost 
as  black  and  slender  as  some  of  the  second  ;  and  in  this  second  race 


14Q 

NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN. 

are  Bome  strong  athletic  figures,  which  may  almost  vie  with  the  first."* 
Thus  in  the  same  race,  while  some  are  hardly  distinguishable  from 
a  negro   tribe,  allied   through  inseparable  links  to  the   negroes  of 
Africa,  others  depart  so  far  from  it,  as  to  approximate  m  symmetry 
of  form  in  the  body  and  skull,  as  well  as  in  color,  to  the  natives  of 
Europe.     And  in  these  gradations  we  trace  a  corresponding  scale  oi 
civilization      "  The  natives  of  some  of  the  islands  in  the  South  feea, 
says  Mr.  Lawrence,  speaking  of  the  form  of  the  skull,  "  are  hardly 
to  be   distinguished,  in    countenance    and   head,  from   Europeans. 
And  again  :  "  The  inhabitants  of  these  islands,  from  New  Zealand 
on  the  west  to  Easter  island,  contain  a  race  of  much  better  organiza- 
tion and  qualities.     In  color  and  features,  many  of  them  approach  to 
the  Caucasian  variety  ;  while  they  are  surpassed  by  none  in^symme- 
try    size  and  strength."!     Dr.  Prichard  reasons  very  forcibly  upon 
this  gradation  within  the  race  or  family.     "  If,"  says  he,  "  we  view 
these    races  (the  Papuan  and  Polynesian)  together,  they  appear  to 
furnish  sufficient  proof,  that  the  utmost  physical  diversities  presented 
by  the  human  frame  in  different  nations,  may  and  do  arise   from  a 
uniform  stock.     They  enable  us  to  produce  actual  facts,  as  examples 
of  this  deviation.     We  cannot  indeed  go  back  all  the  steps  at  once, 
but  we  can  go  the  whole  of  the  way  by  degrees.     If  a  few  of  the  fair- 
est New  Hollanders  were  separated  from  the  community,  and  placed 
on  an  island  by  themselves,  they  would  form  a  race  of  lighter  color 
than  the  New  Zealanders.     Under  favorable  circumstances,  would 
not  this  stock  deviate  into  still  lighter  shades,  as  the  race  of  New 
Zealand,  or  its  kindred  in  the  Society  Isles  has  done  V't     I  must  not     j 
pass  over  the  singular  custom  prevalent,  not  only  throughout  these     t, 
islands,  but  among  the  Hottentots  in  Afi-ica,  the  Guaranos  of  Para-     ^ 
guay,  and  the  Californians  in  America— that  of  amputating  the  little     : 
finger  of  one  or  both  hands,  in  token  of  mourning  for  the  death     ; 
of  a  relation ,§  a  custom  so  singular,  that  we  can  hardly  conceive  it 
to  have  sprung  up  spontaneously  in  such  distant  parts. 

The  existence  of  such  gradations,  almost  from  one  extreme  to  the 
other  in  the  same  race,  is  not  peculiar  to  these  tribes.     The  Malays 

*«  Observations,  etc."  p.  228.  See  the  comparative  table,  p.  284. 
There  are severalimportant  coincidences, however,  between  the  dialects 
of  the  two  families,  as  well  as  of  both  with  Malay. 

f  "  Lectures  on  Physiology,"  pp.  382,  57L 

I  Vol.  i.  p.  488. 

§  Forster  (G.)  "  Voyage  round  the  world,"  vol.  i.  p.  435. 


150  LECTURE    THE    FOURTH. 

exhibit  a  similar  variety.  "  The  complexion  ;"  says  Mr.  Crawfurd, 
"  is  generally  brown,  but  varies  a  little  in  different  tribes.  Neither 
climate  nor  the  habits  of  the  people  seem  to  have  any  thing  to  do 
with  it.  The  fairest  races  are  generally  towards  the  west,  but  some 
of  them,  as  the  Batteeks  of  Sumatra,  upon  the  very  Equator.  The 
Javanese,  who  live  most  comfortably,  are  among  the  darkest  people 
of  the  Archipelago  ;  the  wretched  Dayaks  or  cannibals  of  Borneo 
among  the  fairest."*  This  difficulty  of  accounting  for  such  diversi- 
ties is  rather  favorable  than  opposed  to  the  consequences  we  have 
been  drawing ;  for  the  fact  being  thus  established,  that  in  a  race  ac- 
knowledged to  be  one,  such  varieties  have  sprung  up,  the  difficulties 
of  tracing  them  to  a  uniform  cause,  only  show  that  there  are  agencies 
which  we  have  not  yet  discovered,  or  a  complication  of  causes  whose 
elements  we  have  not  yet  mixed  in  the  prescribed  proportions,  so  as 
to  understand  its  action.  And  the  more  we  extend  the  potency  of 
nature,  beyond  our  comprehension,  the  more  easily  we  justify  the  pro- 
duction of  inexplicable  phenomena. 

In  the  family  to  which  we  belong,  the  same  series  of  modifications 
exists ;  we  have  therein  varieties  which,  if  not  so  strongly  marked, 
appear  just  as  indelible  ;  yet  no  one  would  maintain  that  each  sprung 
from  an  independent  stock.  The  Jew  is  at  this  day  perfectly  distin- 
guishable from  the  Europeans  that  surround  him,  though  West  and 
other  eminent  artists  have  found  it  impossible  to  characterize  him  by 
any  particular  distinctive  traits.t  The  Gypsies  I  may  here  likewise 
mention,  as  an  instance  of  a  tribe,  which,  proved  by  its  language  to 
be  of  Indian  origin,  has  lost  much  of  its  original  configuration,  and 
particularly  the  olive  color  of  its  country,  by  living  in  other  climates. 
But,  the  Germanic  tribes  may  yet  be  distinguished  by  feature  from 
the  Greeks,  and  these  again  from 

"  The  Celtic  race 


Of  different  language,  fonn  and  face, 
A  various  race  of  man," 

as  their  own  northern  bard  has  somewhere  called  them.  It  is  in 
vain  for  these  subdivisions  to  blend  by  every  civil  and  moral  union ; 
they  will  continue,  like  the  united  waters  of  the  Rhone  and  Saone, 
to  flow  together  in  one  stream,  but  with  distinguishable  currents. 


*  "History  of  the  Indian  Archipelago,"  vol.  p.  19. 
f  See  "Camper,  Dissert,  physique,"  p.  21. 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAK.  151 

Thus  are  even  the  smallest  varieties  once  produced,  never  again 
obliterated;  and  yet  not  therefore  are  they  marks  of  independent 
origin  Even  families  may  transmit  them,  and  the  Imperial  house 
of  Hapsbur<T  has  its  characteristic  feature.  And  whence  arises  this 
indelibility.'by  natural  processes,  of  varieties  by  natural  processes 
introduced ''  This  should  seem  to  be  one  of  the  mysteries  of  nature, 
that  we  may  on  anything  compel  her  to  place  her  signet;  but  we 
know  not  how  again  to  force  it  off.  Man,  like  the  magician  s  half- 
skilled  scholar,  so  beautifully  described  by  the  German  poet,  posses- 
ses  often  the  spell  whereby  to  compel  her  to  work,  but  has  not  yet 
learnt  that  which  may  oblige  her  to  desist. 

The  country  and  city  where  we  now  are,  suggests  an  application 
of  what  we  have  just  discussed,  to   researches  both  useful  and  amus- 
ina      Dr  Edwards,  in  a  French  work,  on  the  Physiological  Charac- 
ters of  the  Human  Races,  considered  in  their  relation  to  History, 
has  given  a  very  interesting  hint  for  the  prosecution  of  this  study.* 
He  was  struck,  at  some  market  in  the  south  of  France,  by  observing 
two  distinct  characters  in  the  heads  of  the  country  people,  each  re- 
ferable to  an  individual  type  ;  and  he  paid  particular  attention  to  the 
prevalence  of  either,  in  his  tour  through  Italy,  and  every  where  ob- 
served the  one  to  predominate  over  the  other.     The  one  he  consider- 
ed the  Gaulish  type,  the  other  the  Roman.     As  the  model  of  the  for- 
mer he   proposes  the   features  of  Dante,  too   well  known  to  all  my 
hearers  to  require  any  description.     I  am  sure  no  one  can  pay  atten- 
tion to  the  countenance  prevalent  in  different  parts  of  Italy,  without 
noticing  how  often  this  form  recurs  in  Tuscany  and  in  Upper  Italy, 
while  in  Rome  and  the  southern  provinces  it  is  of  very  rare  occur- 
rence     He  gives,  however,  no  type  of  the  Roman  face  and  head. 
To  find  this,  we  must  not  allow  ourselves  to  be  led  away  by  popular 
representations.     There  are  some  quarters  of  Rome  where  the  des- 
cendants of  the  ancient  inhabitants  are  supposed  yet  to  remam  ;  and 
travellers  have  often  written,  that  the  countenance  of  the  population 
beyond  the  Tiber  exactly  resembles  that  of  the  Roman  soldiers,  upon 
the  column  ofTrajan,  and  other  ancient  monuments. 

Supposing  these  to  be  sufficiently  distinct,  or  sufficient  y  well 
copied,  to  allow  the  making  of  such  a  comparison,  I  should  say  it 
was  one  of  the  worst  criterions  possible.  For,  a  slight  acquaintance 
with  Roman  art  will  satisfy  any  one,  that,  on  historical  monuments, 

*  Paris,  1829. 


152  LECTURK  THK  FOURTH. 

where  no  portrait  is  intended,  all  the  figures  are  formed  upon  the 
Grecian  model,  and  can  give  no  clue  towards  ascertaining  the  physi- 
ognomy of  the  ancient  inhabitants.  But  look  at  the  sarcophagi  on 
which  the  busts  of  the  deceased  are  carved  in  relief,  or  raised  from 
their  reclining  statues  on  the  lid,  or  even  examine  the  series  of  im- 
perial busts  in  the  Capitol,  and  you  cannot  fail  to  discover  a  striking 
type,  essentially  the  same,  from  the  wreathed  image  of  Scipio's  tomb, 
to  Trajan  or  Vespasian,  consisting  in  a  large  and  flat  head,  a  low 
and  wide  forehead,  a  face,  in  childhood,  heavy  and  round,  later, 
broad  and  square,  a  short  and  thick  neck,  and  a  stout  and  broad 
figure ;  a  type  totally  at  variance  with  what  we  find  generally  con- 
sidered as  the  Roman  countenance.  Nor  need  we  go  far  to  find 
their  descendants  ;  they  are  to  be  met  every  day  in  the  streets, 
principally  among  the  burgesses  or  middle  class,  the  most  invariable 
portion  of  every  population.  The  contrast  between  the  true  features 
of  the  Romans,  and  their  ideal  type  in  art,  is  no  where,  perhaps,  so 
clearly  observable  as  in  the  sculptures  of  Titus's  arch.  The  vari- 
ous soldiers  represented  on  each  side,  are  so  exactly  like  one  another, 
that,  were  they  not  sculptured  in  stone,  we  might  suppose  them  to 
have  been  all  cast  in  one  mould.  The  entire  profile,  particularly  in 
the  half-open  mouth  and  lips,  shows  the  existence  of  a  rule  or  model, 
from  which  the  artist  might  not  depart.  But  with  these  the  emperor 
in  his  chariot  contrasts  in  the  strongest  manner  :  his  whole  shape  is 
formed  on  another  type,  and  though  the  features  are  quite  effaced, 
sufficient  remains  of  the  outline  to  show  the  full  heavy  face  and  bulky 
head  of  a  true  Roman. 

These  remarks  may  lead  us  to  great  caution,  in  judging  of 
characteristic  forms,  from  works  belonging  to  the  higher  departments 
of  art.  No  nation  long  possesses  the  art  of  representation,  without 
forming  to  itself  an  ideal,  abstractive  type ;  and  the  caution  to  be 
used  should,  necessarily,  be  doubled,  where  the  arts  and  their  types 
were  borrowed.  Even  the  Egyptians  had  their  ideal  beauty,  as  well 
as  the  Greeks ;  and  Champollion,  to  the  horror  of  pure  classical 
artists,  used  to  descant  in  raptures  on  the  elegance  of  feature  and 
form  in  some  Egyptian  statues.  And  he  must  have  seemed  right  to 
those,  who  would  consider  them  as  the  perfection  of  those  principles 
which  guided  the  genius  of  one  people,  necessarily  keeping  within 
the  national  type  of  living  forms,  and  led  to  one  of  the  earliest  mani- 
festations of  art.  It  was  by  not  sufficiently  attending  to  these  con- 
siderations, that  Blumenbach,  as  I  observed  in  my  last  lecture,  im- 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN.  153 

agined,  that  in  Egypt  there  must  have  been  different  races  of  men  ; 
whereas  the  solitary  specimens  he  brings  of  various  physiognomies, 
only  seem  to  mark  the  difference  between  a  ruder  and  more  ideal 
period  of  style.  On  another  occasion,  he  seems  to  fall  into  a  similar 
error.  The  heads  on  the  Athenian  tetradrachmas  have  nothing  in 
common,  according  to  him,  with  works  of  the  age  of  Pericles,  and 
approach  in  features  to  the  Egyptian  model.*  But  if,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  compare  them  with  the  /Egina  marbles,t  we  shall  discover 
a  striking  similarity  of  character ;  they  have  all  the  leer,  or  laughing 
expression,  so  peculiar  to  those  early  works.  Yet  will  no  one  sus- 
pect them  of  being  anything  but  purely  Grecian.  Indeed,  far  as 
they  are  removed  from  the  perfect  works  of  a  later  period,  they  show 
how  soon  a  uniform  rule  or  model  is  introduced  into  art,  and  becomes 
its  necessary  principle.  Cockerell  has  remarked  that,  in  the  vEgina 
marbles,"  a  canon  of  proportion,  and  a  system  of  anatomical  expres- 
sion, are  observable  throughout  :"4:  and  Thiersch  has  approved  of 
Wagner's  observation,  that  though  art  in  other  respects  improved, 
and  every  grace  of  form  was  introduced  into  that  school,  the  counte- 
nances remained  unchanged. §  And  so,  in  fact,  not  only  in  the 
school  of  vEgina,  but  in  every  other  Grecian  school,  from  the  hasty 
etchings  on  the  Grecian,  or,  as  they  are  called,  Etruscan  vases,  to 
the  sculptures  of  the  Parthenon,  there  is  manifestly  one  rule  or  ideal 
principal  of  the  beautiful,  which  never  can  be  mistaken ;  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  abstract  form  was  derived  from  the 
national  features,  of  which  it  may  be  considered  the  purified  repre- 
sentation. And  thus,  in  some  respects,  where  art  is  indigenous  and 
national,  it  may  be  indirectly  of  use  towards  representing  to  us,  even 
in  its  heroic  or  mythological  figures,  the  character  of  the  people. 

*  Specimen  Historise  naturalis  antiqiife  artis  operibus  illustratas, 
Gottlng.  \SOS,]}.  11. 

f  Tlie  collection  of  statues  which  adorned   the  Temple  of  Jupiter 
Panhelienius,  in  the  island  of  ^Egina  ;  and  whicii,  having  been  restored      * 
in  a  most  masterly  manner  by  Tliorwaidsen,  at  Rome,  form  the  princi-     j 
pal  ornament  of  the  splendid  Glypiotlieca  at  Munich.  / 

J  In  the  "  Jonrnal  of  Science  and  the  Arts,"  vol.  vi.  1819,  p.  338. 

§  "Von  der  Minerva  an  bis  zum  letzten  der  Kriegern  sehen  sich 
alle  iihnlicli,  und  scheinen  insge.^anmit  leililiclie  Brlider  und  Scliwestern 
zu  seyn,  oline  den  geiingsten  Ansdnick  von  Leidenschnft.  Zwischen 
Siegern  iind  liesiegten,  zwi.schen  Gottheit  mid  Menscldieit,  ist  nicht 
i\ev  geringste  Untersohied  zu  benjerken." — Ueber  die  E])ochen  der 
bildenden  Kunst  nnter  den  Griechen,  2e  Abhandlung,  Munich,  1819, 
p.  59. 

20 


154  LECTURE  THE  FOURTH. 

And,  having  wandered  thus  lar,  step  by  step,  from  the  subject  of 
our  inquiry,  allow  me  to  proceed  a  little  further,  in  pursuit  of  a  moral 
application  which  these  remarks  have  suggested,  and  which  may 
perchance  lead  us  back  once  more  unto  our  theme.  As  no  nation  or 
race  of  men  could  ever  have  gone  out  of  their  own  physical  character- 
istics for  their  type  of  ideal  perfection,  in  the  beauty  of  form  ;  as  the 
Egyptian  never  could,  by  any  abstraction,  have  generated  a  style  of 
art,  in  which  the  color,  shape,  and  features,  of  his  divinity  should  be 
purely  European  ;  nor  the  Greek  have  given  to  his  hero  the  tawny 
hue,  narrow  eyes,  and  protruding  lips  of  the  Egyptian — for  each  to 
the  other  must  have  seemed  deformity — so  could  neither  they,  nor 
the  men  of  any  other  nation,  have  framed  to  themselves  an  ideal  type 
or  canon  of  moral  perfection  in  character,  which  arose  not  from  what, 
to  them,  seemed  most  beautiful  and  perfect.  A  Hindoo  cannot  con- 
ceive his  Brahmin  saint,  other  than  as  possessing  in  perfection  the 
abstemiousness,  the  silence,  the  austerity,  and  the  minute  exact- 
ness in  every  trifling  duty,  which  he  admires,  in  different  degrees,  in 
his  living  models.  Plato's  Socrates,  the  perfection  of  the  philosophi- 
cal character,  is  composed  of  elements  perfectly  Greek,  being  a  com- 
pound of  all  those  virtues  which  the  doctrines  of  his  school  deemed 
necessary  to  adorn  a  sage. 

Now  this  has  often  appeared  to  me  the  strongest  internal  proof 
of  a  superior  authority  stamped  upon  the  Gospel  history,  that  the  holy 
and  perfect  character  it  portrays,  not  only  differs  from,  but  expressly 
opposes,  every  type  of  moral  perfection  which  they  who  wrote  it  could 
possibly  have  conceived.  We  have,  in  the  writings  of  the  Rabbins, 
ample  materials  wherewith  to  construct  the  model  of  a  perfect  Jew- 
ish teacher ;  we  have  the  sayings  and  the  actions  of  Hillel  and  Ga- 
maliel, and  Rabbi  Samuel,  all  perhaps  in  great  part  imaginary,  but 
all  bearing  the  impress  of  national  ideas,  all  formed  upon  one  rule  of 
imaginary  perfection.  Yet  nothing  can  be  more  widely  apart,  than 
their  thoughts,  and  principles,  and  actions,  and  character,  and  those 
of  our  Redeemer.  Lovers  of  wrangling  controversy,  proposers  of 
captious  paradoxes,  jealous  upholders  of  their  nation's  exclusive 
privileges,  zealous  uncompromising  sticklers  for  the  least  comma  of 
the  law,  and  most  sophistical  departers  from  its  spirit,  such  mostly 
are  these  great  men, — the  exact  counterpart  and  reflection  of  those 
scribes  and  pharisees,  who  are  so  uncompromisingly  reproved,  as  the 
very  contradiction  of  Gospel  principles. 

How  comes  it  that  men,  not  even  learned,  rontrivcd  to  represent 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN.  155 

a  character  every  way  departing  from  their  natural  type,  —  at  vari- 
ance with  all  those  features  which  custom,  and  education,  and  patri- 
otism, and  religion,  and  nature,  seemed  to  have  consecrated  as  of  all 
most  beautiful  ?  And  the  ditficulty  of  considering  such  a  character 
the  invention  of  man,  as  some  have  impiously  imagined,  is  still  fur- 
ther increased,  by  observing  how  writers,  recording  different  facts,  as 
St.  Matthew  and  St.  John,  do  lead  us,  nevertheless,  to  the  same 
representation  and  conception.  Yet  herein  methinks  we  have  a  key 
to  the  solution  of  every  difficulty.  For,  if  two  artists  were  comman- 
ded to  produce  a  form  embodying  their  ideas  of  perfect  beauty ;  and 
both  e.xhibited  figures,  equally  shaped  upon  types  and  models  most 
different  from  all  ever  before  seen  in  their  country,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  each  perfectly  resembling  the  other,  I  am  sure  such  a  fact,  if 
recorded,  would  appear  almost  incredible,  except  on  the  supposition 
that  both  had  copied  the  same  original. 

Such,  then,  must  be  the  case  hero  :  the  Evangelists,  too,  must 
have  copied  the  living  model  which  they  represent,  and  the  accord- 
ance of  the  moral  features  which  they  give  him,  can  only  proceed 
from  the  accuracy  with  which  they  have  respectively  drawn  them. 
But  this  only  increases  our  mysterious  wonder.  For,  assuredly  he 
was  not  as  the  rest  of  men,  who  could  thus  separate  himself  in  char- 
acter from  whatever  was  held  most  perfect  and  most  admirable  by  all 
who  surrounded  him,  and  by  all  who  had  taught  him  ;  who,  while  he 
set  himself  far  above  all  national  ideas  of  moral  perfection,  yet  bor- 
rowed nothing  from  Greek,  or  Indian,  or  Egyptian,  or  Roman ;  who 
while  he  thus  had  nothing  in  common  with  any  known  standard  of 
character,  any  established  law  of  perfection,  should  seem  to  every 
one  the  type  of  his  peculiarly  beloved  excellence."*  And  truly,  when 
we  see  how  he  can  have  been  followed  by  the  Greek,  though  a  foun- 
der of  none  among  his  sects, — revered  by  the  Brahmin,  though 
preached  unto  him  by  men  of  the  fisherman's  caste, — worshipped  by 
the  red  man  of  Canada,  though  belonging  to  the  hated  pale  race, — 
we  cannot  but  consider  him  as  destined  to  break  down  all  distinction 
of  color,  and  shape,  and  countenance,  and  habits  ;  to  form  in  himself 
the  type  of  unity,  to  which  are  referable  all  the  sons  of  Adam,  and 
give  us,  in  the  possibility  of  this  moral  convergence,  the  strongest 
proof  that  the  human  species,  however  varied,  is  essentially  one. 


*/littq>OQOi  8s  q)V<T^ig  (jooimv 

zlicccpoQoi,  8s  TQOTroig'  6  S'vQ&og 

'  Ea&lov  (Tftcpsq  aUl. — Euripid.  Iphigen.  559. 


LECTURE  THE  FIFTH 


ON 


THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES. 


PART  I. 


Connexion  of  the  Natural  Sciences  with  the  preceding  topics.  Medi- 
cine.— Applied  in  Germany  to  the  denial  of  oiir  Saviour's  resurrec- 
tion. General  remarks  upon  the  utility  of  discussing  such  objections. 
— The  reality  of  our  Redeemer's  death,  and  consequently  the  truth 
of  his  resurrection,  vindicated  by  physicians,  upon  medical  grounds: 
Richter,  Eschenbach,  the  Gruners. — Translation  of  an  Arabic  narra- 
tive ofa  crucifixion. 

Geology. — Classification  of  systems.  First,  systems  professedly  framed 
to  defend  Scripture. — Older  theories  of  the  earth  :  Penu,  Fairholme, 
Croly. — Defects  of  such  systems.  Secondly,  systems  opposed  to 
ScrijJture  :  Buffon,  and  other  French  writers.  Thirdly,  purely  sci- 
entific researches. — Example  of  objection  from  a  particular  case  ; 
Brydone  on  the  lavas  of  Jaci  Reale :  confuted  by  the  observations  of 
Smyth,  Dolomieu,  and  Hamilton. — Points  of  contact  between  Geolo- 
gy and  the  Sacred  Narrative.  The  Creation. — Pre-existence  of  a 
chaotic  state ;  doctrine  of  successive  revolutions :  found  in  all  an- 
cient cosmogonies,  and  in  the  Fathers  of  the  Church.  Fossils  ; 
early  speculations  regarding  their  origin:  Cuvier's  discoveries. — 
Constancy  and  regularity  of  the  cause  em[)loyed  in  such  revolutions. 
Elie  de  Beaumont's  theory  of  the  elevation  of  mountains  :  its  accord- 
ance with  Scripture. — Theory  of  the  days  of  the  creation  being  i)e- 
riods. — Opinions  of  modern  foreign  geologists  on  the  harmony  be- 
tween the  Mosaic  creation  and  geological  observations. 

"  In  all  pursuits,"  says  the  amiable  philosopher  Pronto,  "  I  think 
it  better  to  be  wholly  ignorant  and  unskilled,  than  half-learned  and 
half-expert.  Philosophy,  too,  they  say,  it  is  better  never  to  have 
touched,  than  to  have  but  partially  tasted  ;  inasmuch  as  those  be- 
come most  malicious,  who  pausing  in  the  porch  of  science,  turn  away 


158  LECTURE    THK    FIFTH. 

without  proceeding  furtlier."*  Nothing  has  proved  the  accuracy  of 
these  observations  so  well  as  the  connexion  between  the  natural  sci- 
ences and  revealed  religion.  It  has  been  the  malice  of  superficial 
men,  who  had  not  patience  or  courage  to  penetrate  into  the  sanctua- 
ry of  nature,  that  has  suggested  objections  from  her  laws,  against 
truths  revealed.  Had  they  boldly  advanced,  they  would  have  dis- 
covered, as  in  the  cavern-temples  of  India  and  Idumea,  that  the 
depths  which  serve  to  conceal  her  darkest  mysteries,  may  the  soonest 
be  changed  into  fittest  places  for  profound  adoration. 

The  natural  sciences,  of  which  we  have  now  to  treat,  are  usually 
connected  with  religion,  by  forming  the  basis  of  what  is  called,  "  nat- 
ural theology,"  that  is,  by  giving  strong  demonstration  of  the  wisdom 
of  God,  in  the  works  of  creation,  and  thus  showing  the  existence  of  a 
regulating  Providence  in  the  construction  and  direction  of  the  uni- 
verse. The  very  character  of  the  course  of  lectures  which  I  have 
undertaken  to  deliver,  forbids  me  to  enter  upon  the  consideration  of 
this  connexion  :  and,  even  if  want  of  abundant  materials  for  my  de- 
finite undertaking,  had  inclined  me  to  wander  into  this  ground,  I 
should  have  felt  myself  deterred  by  the  detailed  and  interesting,  as 
well  as  learned  and  able  manner,  in  which  that  branch  of  religious 
science  has  of  late  been  treated  in  the  Bridgewater  publications.  If, 
therefore,  we  confine  ourselves,  according  to  our  engagement,  to  the 
connexion  between  science  and  revealed  religion,  we  shall  find  that 
the  study  of  which  I  last  discoursed,  may  appear  very  naturally  to 
lead  us  into  the  consideration  of  the  alliance  if  any  exists,  between 
philosophical  pursuits  and  the  facts  communicated  in  the  inspired 
pages.  For  we  may  truly  say,  that  in  attempting  to  establish  the 
unity  of  the  human  race,  we  found  ourselves  involved  in  a  variety  of 
physiological  speculations,  and  had  to  unravel  the  action  of  natural 
causes  upon  the  physical  organization  of  man.  This  would  seem  to 
conduct  us  into  the  department  of  medicine  ;  and,  however  strange 
it  may  appear  to  you,  it  is  through  this  study  that  I  mean  to  lead  you 
into  the  natural  sciences. 

You  will  probably  ask,  what  light  the  progress  of  medicine  can 

*  "Omnium  artium,  ut  ego  arbitror,  imperitum  el  indoctum  esse 
prsestat  quam  seniipcritura  et  seniidoctum.  Philosophite  quoque  dis- 
ciplinas  ajunt  satius  esse  nunquam  attigisse  quam  leviter  et  prinioribiis 
ut  dicitur  iabiis  delibasse  ;  eosque  provenire  nialitiosissimos,  qui  in  ves- 
tibule artis  observati,  prius  inde  averterint  quam  intraverint."— Ad  M. 
Caes.  lib.  iv.  ep.  3,   Rovm,  1823,  p.  94. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  159 

throw  upon  the  truths  of  religion.  Not  much,  perhaps,  if  we  con- 
sider it  as  an  aggregate  of  principles,  varying  in  different  schools,  as 
a  succession  of  theories,  most  conflicting  among  themselves,  and  not 
often  referred  to  any  illustration  of  sacred  doctrines.  But,  in  partic- 
ular cases,  in  the  examination  of  individual  facts,  where  science  has 
been  first  invoked  by  the  adversaries  of  revelation,  a  fuller  and  more 
learned  discussion,  based  exclusively  upon  scientific  principles,  has 
done  the  work  of  confutation  much  more  effectually,  and  much  more 
satisfactorily,  than  mere  theology  could  have  achieved  it.  I  will  se- 
lect one  example,  in  which  superficial  medical  observation  has  been 
applied  lo  the  denial — and  afterwards,  more  solid  learning  to  the 
complete  vindication  of  an  important  portion  of  the  Christian  evi- 
dences. 

I  must,  however,  premise  some  observations,  which  may  apply  to 
other  cases,  in  future  lectures,  as  well  as  to  the  one  in  hand.  Is  it 
useful,  it  may  be  asked,  or  is  it  wholesome,  to  bring  before  you  ob- 
jections against  sacred  and  solemn  truths,  which  have  never  been 
proposed  to  you,  and  of  which  you,  perhaps,  are  ignorant  ?  Would 
it  not  be  better  to  waive  illustrations  of  my  theme,  that  tend  to  make 
you  acquainted  with  irreligious  discussions,  or  free-thinking  asser- 
tions, broached  in  foreign  countries,  but  totally  excluded  from  your 
own?  Were  I  addressing  an  illiterate  assembly,  or  were  these  lec- 
tures directed  to  the  instruction  of  those  who  have  not  travelled — I 
vvill  not  say,  out  of  their  own  country,  but — out  of  their  own  litera- 
ture, I  own  I  might  be  inclined  to  avoid  the  mooting  of  such  danger- 
ous inquiries.  Or,  were  the  rationalist  philosophy  of  the  Continent 
of  that  seductive  kind,  which  ensnares  the  dallying  imagination,  or 
catches  the  unwary  or  casual  inquirer,  I  should  feel  it  a  duty  to  close 
rather  than  to  open,  any  avenue,  which  could  lead  into  its  enchanted 
gardens.  But  the  case  is  far  otherwise  in  both  regards.  For,  in  the 
first  place,  all  know  in  general,  that  many  such  strange  opinions,  and 
fond  objections  have  been  made  by  the  pretended  philosophers  of 
France  or  Germany  ;  and  any  one,  however  superficially  acquainted 
with  the  history  of  literature  in  these  two  countries,  during  the  last 
fifty  years,  is  familiar  with  the  names  of  those  who  have  labored  in 
the  unholy  work.  Now,  I  apprehend  that  there  is  more  danger  in 
the  vague  impression,  that  learned  and  able  men  have  rejected  Chris- 
tianity, as  irreconcilable  with  their  scientific  discoveries  or  medita- 
tions, than  in  the  particular  examination  of  the  grounds  on  which 
they  specifically  based  their  rejection.     An  able  critic  has  observed, 


160  LECTURE    THE    FIFTH. 

that  it  was  a  pity  the  writings  of  Julian  the  apostate  were  lost,  as  it 
would  have  been  interesting  to  see  what  so  learned  and  ingenious  a 
man  could  object  to  Christianity.  This  species  of  conjecture,  and  of 
longing  regret,  is  a  thousand  times  more  mischievous  than  the  works 
themselves  could  possibly  have  been  :  for,  from  the  specimens  of  Ju- 
lian's reasoning,  preserved  by  St.  Cyril,  it  clearly  appears  that  his  objec- 
tions must  have  been  of  the  most  flimsy  description.  Thus,  then,  when 
I  lay  before  you  objections  of  free-thinkers,  wherewith  you  were  pre- 
viously unacquainted,  and,  with  them,  the  satisfactory  answers  where- 
by they  have  been  met,  and  repelled,  I  trust  I  shall  be  much  dimin- 
ishing, rather  than  increasing  the  uneasiness,  which  ill-defined  and 
shadowy  apprehension  of  danger  must  often  produce.  Nor  can  I  fear 
that  any  one  will  be  easily  led,  by  what  I  shall  say,  to  any  danger- 
ous prying  into  forbidden  pursuits ;  for  the  authors  with  whom  I 
shall  mostly  deal,  are  such  as  require  a  very  determined  scholar  to 
grapple  with  them,  and  a  sterner  motive,  whether  good  or  evil,  than 
curiosity,  to  ensure  perseverance  in  their  perusal. 

Thus  much  premised,  I  return  to  observe,  that  the  point  to  which 
I  alluded  as  attacked,  by  superficial  inquirers,  upon  medical  grounds 
is  no  other  than  the  truth  of  our  Saviour's  resurrection.  You  are 
of  course  aware,  that,  as  St.  Paul  holds  this,  for  one  of  the  principal 
grounds  of  our  faith,  without  which  his  preaching  would  be  vain,  so 
have  the  enemies  of  Christianity,  in  ancient  and  modern  times,  left 
no  art  untried  to  shake  this  foundation-stone  of  our  belief  Every 
apparent  contradiction  in  the  narrative  of  the  apostles  has  been  eager- 
ly seized  upon  to  disprove  it;  but  the  most  direct  way  in  which  it 
has  been  attacked,  of  old,  and  in  later  ages,  is  by  endeavoring  to 
throw  doubts  upon  the  reality  of  our  Saviour's  death.  From  the  ear- 
nestness with  which  St.  John  seems  to  dwell  upon  the  last  events  of 
his  life,  and  the  strong  asseverations  wherewith  he  declares  himself 
to  have  witnessed  the  piercing  of  his  side,*  it  would  clearly  appear, 
that,  already  in  his  time,  this  solemn  and  important  event  had  been 
called  in  question.  I  will  not  for  a  moment  dwell  on  the  coarse  and 
revolting  blasphemies  of  some  writers  in  the  last  century,  who  unfeel- 
ingly and  impiously  charged  our  Blessed  Redeemer  with  feigning 
death  upon  the  cross,t  such  monstrous  impiety  carries  confutation  in 

*  J<»l)ii  19:34,  35,  coll.  1  John  5:8.  See  the  Bisliop  of  Salisbury's 
letter  to  the  Rev.  T.  Beiiyon,  1829,  p.  26. 

t  For  a  confiilation  of  this  impiety,  see  Suskind's  "  Magaziu  fiir 
Christliches  Dogmatik,"  9  Heft.  \>.  158. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  161 

its  own  absurdity.  But  modern  unbelievers  who  will  not  venture  to 
deny  the  virtue  and  holiness  of  Christ,  while  they  reduce  his  miracles 
to  mere  natural  events,  have  chosen  a  more  artful  way  of  accounting 
for  his  resurrection,  by  imagining,  that  upon  medical  grounds,  he 
could  not  have  died  upon  the  cross,  but  must  have  been  taken  down 
while  in  a  state  of  asphyxia  or  trance.  Paulus,  Damm,  and  others, 
adopt  this  opinion,  and  support  it  by  much  specious  reasoning.  It  is 
certain,  they  say,  that,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Josephus  and 
other  ancient  writers,  persons  crucified  lived  for  three,  or  even  nine 
days  upon  the  cross  ;  and  hence  we  find  that  the  two  who  shared  our 
Saviour's  sentence  were  not  dead  at  evening,  and  that  Pilate  would 
not  believe  he  could  have  so  soon  expired,  without  the  centurion's 
express  testin)ony.*  But,  on  the  other  hand,  nothing  is  more  proba- 
ble than  that  fatigue,  mental  anguish,  and  loss  of  blood,  should  have 
produced  exhaustion,  syncope  or  trance  ;  in  which  state  our  Blessed 
Redeemer  is  placed  at  the  disposal  of  his  faithful  friends,  who  medi- 
cate his  wounds  with  spices,  and  leave  him  to  repose  in  a  quiet  and 
well-sheltered  sepulchral  chamber.  There  he  soon  recovers  from 
the  state  of  suspended  animation,  and  returns  to  his  friends.  As  to 
the  vigilance  of  his  eager  enemies,  it  is  said  that  there  are  other  in- 
stances of  that  being  eluded  :  as  in  St.  Paul,  who  was  left  for  dead  ; 
or  St.  Sebastian,  who  was  cured  by  the  Christians,  after  he  had  been 
shot  with  arrows.  The  piercing  of  our  Saviour's  side  with  a  lance  is 
got  rid  of,  by  saying  that  the  verb  used  in  the  Greek  (vvrxflv,)  signi- 
fies rather  to  prick,  or  superficially  wound,  than  to  pierce  the  body  ! 
And  thus  according  to  them,  nothing  occurs  in  the  history  of  his 
passion,  to  account  for  death. 

Had  theologians  been  left  to  themselves  to  answer  this  specious 
and  superficial  reasoning,  no  doubt  their  own  science  would  have 
been  fully  equal  to  the  task.  They  could  have  i)ointed  out  sufficient 
errors  in  the  statements,  and  an  abundant  liberty  in  the  assumptions 
of  these  writers,  to  confute  them  most  satisfactorily.  But  it  was 
much  more  fitting  that  the  very  science  which  had  been  enlisted  in 
opposition  to  religion,  should  be  brought  in  to  throw  off"  from  itself 
the  odious  imputation,  and  take  the  charge  of  finally  confuting  the 
objections  pretended  to  be  brought  from  its  own  principles. 

Several  eminent  writers  had  occupied  themselves  with  the  physi- 


*  See  Justius  Lipsius,  "De  Cruce,"  lib.  ii.  c.  12.     Josephus  "Cent. 
Apiun."p.  10;3I. 

21 


16'3  LECTURE    THE    FIFTH. 

ology  of  our  Saviour's  passion,  if  we  may  so  express  ourselves,  before 
this  method  of  attacking  it  had  been  resorted  to ;  such  were 
Scheuchzer,  Mead,  Barthoiinus,  Vogler,  Triller,  Richter,  and  Es- 
chenbach.  But  a  much  fuller  and  more  scientific  investigation  has 
been  made  by  the  two  Gruners,  father  and  son  ;  the  latter  of  whom 
first  wrote  under  the  direction  and  by  the  advice  of  ihe  former. 
These  different  authors  have  collected  all  that  medical  analogies 
could  furnish  towards  establishing  the  character  of  our  Saviour's  suf- 
ferings, and  the  reality  of  his  death. 

They  have  shown  that  the  torments  of  crucifixion  in  themselves 
were  fearful,  not  merely  from  the  outward  wounds  inflicted,  and  from 
the  painful  posture  of  the  body,  or  even  from  the  gangrene  which 
must  have  ensued  from  exposure  to  the  sun  or  heat,  but  also  from  the 
effects  of  this  position  upon  the  circulation,  and  other  ordinary  func- 
tions of  life.  The  pressure  upon  the  main  artery  or  aorta,  must,  ac- 
cording to  Richter,  have  impeded  the  free  course  of  the  blood  ;  and, 
by  disabling  it  from  receiving  all  which  was  furnished  by  the  left  ven- 
tricle of  the  heart,  must  have  prevented  the  blood  from  the  lungs  be- 
ing returned.  By  these  circumstances,  a  congestion  and  effort  must 
have  been  produced  in  the  right  ventricle,  "  more  intolerable  than 
any  pain,  and  than  death  itself"  "  The  pulmonary,  and  other  veins 
and  arteries  about  the  heart  and  chest,"  he  adds,  "  by  the  abundance 
of  blood  flowing  thither,  and  there  accumulating,  must  have  added 
frightful  bodily  suffering  to  the  anguish  of  mind,  produced  by  the 
overpowering  burthen  of  our  sins."*  But  this  general  suffering  must 
have  made  a  relative  impression  upon  different  individuals  ;  and,  as 
Charles  Gruner  well  observes,  the  effect  it  produced  upon  two  hardy 
and  hardened  thieves,  brought  out  fresh  from  prison,  must  naturally 
have  been  very  different  from  that  on  our  Saviour,  whose  frame  and 
temperament  were  of  a  very  opposite  character  ;  who  had  been  pre- 
viously sufl'ering  a  night  of  tortures  and  restless  fatigue  ;  who  had 
been  wrestling  with  mental  agony  till  one  of  the  rarest  phenomena 
had  been  caused  —  a  bloody  sweat  ;  who  must  have  felt  to  the  most 
acute  degree  of  intensity  all  the  mental  aggravation  of  his  punishment, 
its  shame  and  ignominy,  and  the  distress  of  his  holy  mother,  and  few 
faithful  friends.t       And  to  these  he  might  have  added  other  reflec- 


*  Georgii  G.  Richteri  "  Dissertationes   Qiiatuor   Medicee,"  Galling. 
1775,  p.  57. 

t  Caroli  Frid.  Gruncri  "  Cornrrieiitatio  Aiuiqiifiria  Medica  do  Jesu 
Cbristi  morte  vera  non  simulaia"  Hal's,,  1805,  p[).  30 — 36. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES. 


163 


lions  ;  as  that  our  Saviour  was  evidently  weakened  beyond  other 
persons  in  similar  circumstances,  seeing  he  was  not  strong  enough 
to  carry  his  cross,  as  criminals  led  to  execution  were  always  able  to 
do;  and,  if  the  men  whom  we  are  answering  suppose  our  Lord  to 
have  only  fallen  into  a  trance  from  exhaustion,  they  have  manifestly 
no  right  to  judge  from  other  cases,  for  in  them  even  this  did  not  oc- 
cur.    The  younger  Gruner  goes  minutely  into  all  the  smallest  cir- 
cumstances of  the  passion,  examining  them  as  objects  of  medical  ju- 
risprudence, and  particularly  takes  cognizance  of  the  stroke  inflicted 
by  the  soldier's  lance.     He  shows  the  great  probability  of  the  wound 
having  been   inflicted  on  the  left  side,  and  from   below,  transversely 
upwards  ;  he  demonstrates  that  such  a  stroke,  inflicted  by  the  robust 
arm  of  a  Roman  soldier,  with  a  short  lance,  for  the  cross  was  not 
raised  much  from  the  ground,  must,  in  any  hypothesis,  have  occa- 
sioned a  deadly  wound.*     Up  to  this  moment,  he  supposes  our  Sa- 
viour may  have  been  still  faintly  alive  ;  because  otherwise,  the  blood 
would  not  have  flowed,  and  because  the  loud  cry  which  he  uttered, 
is  a  symptom  of  a  syncope  from  too  great  a  congestion  of  blood  about 
the  heart.     But  this  wound,  which  from  the  flowing  of  blood  and  wa- 
ter he  supposes  to  have  been  in  the  cavity  of  the  chest,  must,  accord- 
ing to  him,  have  been  necessarily  fatal.t     His  father.  Christian  Gru- 
ner, goes  over  the  same  ground,  and  answers,  step  by  step,  the  addi- 
tional  objections  of  an  anonymous  impugner.     He  shows  that  the 
words  used  by  St.  John,  to  express  the  wound  inflicted  by  the  lance, 
are  often  used  to  denote  a  mortal  one,$  he  proves  that,  even  suppos- 

*  Pages  40—45. 

+  Page  37  Tirinus  and  other  commentators,  as  well  as  many 
physicians,  Gruner  Banholinus,  Trilier,  at.d  Eschenbach  suppose  this 
water  to  have  been  lymph  from  the  pericardium.  Vogler  Phys.o- 
logia  Historic  Passionis,"  Hdmst.  1693,  p.  44,  supposes  it  to  have  been 
serum  separated  from  the  blood.  But  from  the  manner  n.  which  St 
John  mentions  this  mvstical  flow,  and  from  the  concurrent  sentiment  o 
all  antiquity,  we  musl  admit  sometliing  more  than  a  mere  physical 
event  Richter  observes,  that  the  abundant  gush  of  the  blood  and  wa- 
ter, «non  ut  in  mortuis  fieri  solet,  lentum  et  gruinosum,  sed  calentum 
adhucetflexilem,tamquamex  calentissimo  misericordi^  fonte,  must 
be  considered  preternatural,  and  deeply  symbolical,  (p.  5^.) 

t  «  VindiciEe  Mortis  Jesu  Christi  verse,"  Ibid.  p.  77,  seqq.  A  con- 
sidetation  not  noticed  by  any  of  these  authors,  seems  to  rne  to  decide 
the  point  of  the  depth  of  the  wound,  and  place  beyond  doubt  that  it 
could  not  be  superficial,  but  must  have  entered  the  cavity  Our  Sa- 
viour  distinguishes  the  wounds  in  his  hands  from  that  of  his  side,  by 


164  LECTURE    THE    FIFTH. 

iiig  tlie  death  of  Christ  to  have  been  in  tlie  first  instance  apparent, 
the  infliction  of  even  a  slight  wound  would  have  been  fatal,  because 
in  syncope  or  trance,  arising  from  loss  of  blood,  any  venesection 
would  be  considered  such  ;*  and  that  in  fine,  so  far  from  the  spices 
or  unguents  used  in  embalming,  or  the  close  chamber  of  the  tomb, 
being  fitting  restoratives  to  a  person  in  a  trance,  they  would  be  the 
most  secure  instruments  for  converting  apparent  into  real  death,  by 
suffocation. t  To  which  we  may  add  Eschenbach's  observation,  that 
there  is  no  well  recorded  instance  of  syncope  lasting  more  than  one 
day,  whereas,  here  it  must  have  lasted  three  ;|  and  also  that,  even 
this  period  would  not  have  been  sufficient  to  restore  to  strength  and 
health,  a  frame  v.'hich  had  undergone  the  shattering  tortures  of  cruci- 
fixion, and  the  enfeebling  influence  of  syncope  from  loss  of  blood. 

1  cannot  omit,  on  this  occasion,  a  case  which  may  confirm  some 
of  the  foregoing  observations  ;  the  more  so,  because,  never  having 
been  translated  into  any  European  language,  it  is  not  likely  to  come 
in  the  way  of  many  readers,  who  take  an  interest  in  these  investiga- 
tions. I  allude  to  an  account  of  a  crucified  Mameluke,  or  Turkish 
servant,  published  by  Kosegarten  from  an  Arabic  manuscript,  en- 
titled The  Mcadoiv  of  Flowers,  and  the  Fragrant  Odor.  The  narra- 
tive, after  quoting  the  authorities,  as  is  usual  in  Arabic  histories,  pro- 
ceeds as  follows.  "It  is  said  that  he  had  killed  his  master,  for  some 
cause  or  other  ;  and  he  was  crucified  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Bara- 
da,  under  the  castle  of  Damascus,  with  his  face  turned  towards  the 
east.  His  hands,  arms,  and  feet  Avere  nailed,  and  he  remained  so, 
from  mid-day  on  Friday,  to  the  same  hour  on  Sunday,  when  he  died. 
He  was  remarkable  for  his  strength  and  prowess  ;  he  had  been  en- 
gaged with  his  master  in  sacred  war  at  Askalon,  where  he  slew  great 

desiring  Thomas  to  measure  the  former  by  his  finger,  and  the  latter  by 
the  insertion  of  his  hand.  (John  20:  27.)  This,  tlierefore,  must  have 
been  of  the  breadth  of  two  or  three  fingers,  on  the  outside.  But,  for  a 
lance,  which  tapered  very  gently  from  tlie  |)oint,  to  leave  a  scar  or  in- 
cision on  the  flesh  of  such  a  breadth,  at  least  four  or  five  inches  must 
have  jjenetrated  into  the  l)ody,  a  supposition  (|uite  incoiiipaiilile  with  a 
superficial  or  flesh-wound.  Of  course  this  reasoning  is  with  those  who 
admit  the  entire  history  of  the  passion  and  subsequent  appearance  of 
our  Saviour,  but  deny  his  real  death  :  and  such  are  the  adversaries  of 
the  Gruners. 

*  Page  Oil. 

t  Page  70.     Charles  Gruner,  p.  38. 

X  Scripta  Medico-biblica,"  Rosloch,  177l>,  p.  \2'S. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  165 

numbers  of  Franks ;  and  when  very  young  he  had  killed  a  lion. 
Several  extraordinary  things  occurred  at  his  being  nailed,  as  that  he 
gave  himself  np  without  resistance  to  the  cross,  and  withoutcomplaint 
stretched  out  his  hands,  which  were  nailed,  and  after  them  his  feet ; 
he  in  the  mean  time  looked  on,  and  did  not  utter  a  groan,  or  change 
his  countenance  or  move  his  limbs."  Thus  we  see  a  person  in  the 
flower  of  his  age,  remarkable  for  his  hardihood  and  strength,  inured 
to  military  fatigue,  nay  so  strong,  that  we  are  told  in  another  part  of 
the  narrative  that,  "  he  moved  his  feet  about,  though  nailed,  till  he 
loosened  the  fastenings  of  the  nails,  so  that,  if  they  had  not  been  well 
secured  in  the  wood,  he  would  have  drawn  them  out ;"  and  yet  he 
could  not  endure  the  suffering  more  than  eight  and  forty  hours.  But 
the  most  interesting  circumstance  in  this  narration,  and  the  illustra- 
tion of  the  scriptural  narrative  I  had  principally  in  view,  is  the  fact, 
not  I  believe  mentioned  by  any  ancient  describer  of  this  punishment, 
— that  the  principal  torture  endured  by  this  servant,  was  that  of  thirst, 
precisely  as  is  intimated  in  the  Gospel  history.*  For  the  Arabic 
narrator  thus  proceeds  : — "  I  have  heard  this  from  one  who  witnessed 
it — and  he  thus  remained  till  he  died,  patient  and  silent,  without 
wailing,  but  looking  around  him  to  the  right  and  to  the  left,  upon  the 
people.  But  he  begged  for  water,  and  none  was  given  him  ;  and  the 
hearts  of  the  people  were  melted  with  compassion  for  him,  and  with  pity 
on  one  of  God's  creatures,  who,  yet  a  boy,  was  suffering  under  so 
grievous  a  trial.  In  the  mean  time  the  water  was  flowing  around 
him,  and  he  gazed  upon  it,  and  longed  for  one  drop  of  it  ...  .  and 
he  complained  of  thirst  all  the  first  day,  after  which  he  was  silent, 
for  God  gave  him  strength. "t 

What  I  have  said  may  suffice  to  show,  how  our  neighbors  on  the 
Continent  have  directed  their  medical  pursuits  to  the  vindication  and 
illustration  of  the  word  of  God.  There  are  many  other  points  well 
worthy  of  similar  attention,  many  which  would  well  repay  the  study 
of  a  learned  physician,  who  should  feel  inclined   to  dedicate  some 

*  John  xix.  28.  The  very  fact  of  drink  being  prepared  proves  this 
circumstance. 

f  Kosegarten,  "  Chrestomathia  Arabica,"  Lips.  1828,  pp.63 — 65. 
There  is  a  little  circumstance  mentioned  in  the  course  of  this  narrative, 
which  may  serve  to  illustrate  wliat  is  related  of  Absalom's  hair,  2  Sam. 
J4:  26,  observing  that,  according  to  one  opinion,  the  weight  is  another 
expression  for  the  value.  "  He  was  the  most  beautiful  of  youdis,  and 
most  fair  of  countenance,  and  had  the  longest  hair,  the  value  of  which 
was  some  thousands  of  dirhems."  (j).  65.) 


166  LECTURE    THE    FIFTH. 

portion  of  his  abilities  and  experience  to  the  defence  or  ornament  of 
religion.  I  will  notice  one  which  seems  to  me  to  invite  such  study, 
as  I  know  I  have  the  honor  to  reckon  among  my  audience  more  than 
one  fully  competent  for  the  undertaking.  The  subject  to  which  I 
allude  is  the  attempt  made  by  Eichhorn  to  explain  the  sudden  blind- 
ness of  St.  Paul,  when  going  to  Damascus,  and  his  recovery  through 
the  ministry  of  Ananias,  by  natural  and  medical  considerations.  He 
has  collected  a  number  of  medical  cases,  for  the  purpose  of  proving, 
that  it  was  no  more  than  an  amaurosis,  caused  by  lightning,  and 
curable  by  means  of  the  simplest  character,  such  as  even  the  imposi- 
tion of  hands  upon  the  head  !*  Of  course  this  absurd,  as  well  as 
impious,  hypothesis,  may  be  met  upon  obvious  grounds :  as  the  very 
circumstance  recorded,  that  Ananias  told  Saul  he  was  come  to  res- 
tore his  sight,  proves  that  he  trusted  not  to  natural  remedies;  for, 
granting  that  amaurosis  may  accidentally  be  cured  by  such  simple 
means,  assuredly,  the  most  skilful  oculist  would  not  venture  to  pre- 
dict their  efficacy,  or  rely  upon  their  certainty.  But  at  the  same 
time,  it  would  be  still  more  satisfactory  to  see  this  history  vindicated, 
as  doubtless  it  may  be,  by  the  very  science  through  which  it  has 
been  attacked ;  and  to  have  something  written  in  confutation  of 
Eichhorn's  denial  of  this  miracle,  of  the  same  nature  as  we  have  seen 
done  in  contradiction  to  the  blasphemies  of  Schuster  and  Paulus. 

It  would  not  be  difficult  to  establish  links  between  the  science  I 
have  just  treated  of,  and  the  one  on  which  I  next  shall  enter,  that  is, 
Geology.  Chemistry,  for  instance,  which  presents  many  analogies 
to  both,  might  furnish  us  several  interesting  applications.  But  I  pass 
them  over,  both  because  they  are  probably  better  known,  and  be- 
cause the  abundance  of  materials  lying  before  us,  will  not  allow  us 
time  for  less  important  topics.  I  hasten,  therefore,  forward,  to  as 
rapid  a  view  as  I  can  give,  of  the  connexion  between  Geology  and 
Sacred  History. 

Geology  may  truly  be  called  the  science  of  nature's  antiquities. 
Fresh  and  young  as  this  power  may  look  to  us,  and  ever  vigorous  in 
all  her  operations, — free  from  all  symptoms  of  decay  as  her  beauty 
and  energy  may  appear, — yet  has  she  too  her  olden  times,  her  early 
days  of  rude  contention  and  arduous  strivings,  and  then,  her  epochs 
of  calmer  subsidence,  and  gentler  rule.  And  the  legends  of  all  these 
she  has  written  upon  monuments  innumerable,  scattered  over  the 

*  In  his  "  Allgemeine  Bibliothek,"  vol.  iii.  pp.  13,  seqq. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  167 

boundless  tract  of  her  supreme  dominion,  in  characters  which  the 
skill  of  man  has  learnt  to  decipher.  She  has  her  pyramids  in  those 
mountain-cones  of  disputed  formation,  which  rise  in  every  continent, 
— her  mighty  aqueducts  in  the  majestic  rivers  which  bestride,  as  it 
were,  large  territories, — now  sinking  into  the  depths  of  earth — now 
flowing  in  peaceful  streams  to  the  reservoirs  of  the  vasty  deep  ; — her 
landmarks  and  local  monuments  to  note  the  times  and  places  of  her 
victories  over  art,  or  of  her  defeats,  by  a  stronger  energy  than  her 
own, — her  cameos  and  sculptured  gems,  in  the  impressions,  upon 
stone-laminjB,  of  insects  or  plants  : — and  we  have  but  even  now  dis- 
covered her  cemeteries,  or  columharia,  in  those  curious  caverns, 
wherein  the  bones  of  early  generations  lie  inured,  yea  embalmed,  by 
her  preserving  hand,  with  evidences  and  proofs  of  when  they  lived, 
and  how  they  died.  And  even  beyond  those  times,  we  may  go  back 
to  her  Cyclopean  monuments,  her  fabulous  ages  of 

"Gorgons  and  hydras  and  chimeras  dire," 

when  the  huge  saurians  and  megalheria,  disported  in  giant  propor- 
tions over  sea  and  land,  and  find,  to  our  astonishment,  all  that  a 
night-mare  fancy  might  have  dreamt  of  their  shapes,  recorded  in  sure 
representations  upon  unerring  monuments. 

Of  all  sciences,  none  has  been  more  given  up  to  the  devices  of 
man's  heart  and  imagination  than  geology  ;  none  has  afforded  ampler 
scope  for  ideal  theories,  and  brittle,  though  brilliant,  systems,  con- 
structed for  the  most  conflicting  purposes.  In  enumerating  the  vari- 
ous theories  of  the  earth,  as  they  are  called,  which  have  been  framed 
during  the  last  two  centuries,  we  may  conveniently  divide  them  into 
three  classes. 

The  first  should  embrace  those  who  assumed  the  Mosaic  cos- 
mogony or  creation,  and  the  deluge,  as  demonstrated  points,  and 
conducted  their  studies  primarily  with  a  view  of  reconciling  actual 
appearances  with  these  events.  In  the  earlier  works  of  this,  as  of 
every  other  class,  there  is,  naturally,  more  of  imagination  and  inge- 
nuity, than  of  solidity  or  research.  The  older  theorists  hardly  deserve 
to  be  dwelt  upon  ;  Burnet  and  Woodward,  and  Whiston  and  Hooke, 
and  many  others,  may  deserve  praise  for  their  zeal  in  the  cause  of 
religion,  but  can  receive  but  little  for  real  services  in  its  behalf. 
Nothing  was  easier  than  to  show  how  the  world  was  first  created, 
and  how  it  was  destroyed  by  a  deluge,  when  all  the  agents  employed 
were  pure  suppositions,  or  fictions  of  the  author's  imagination.     Bur- 


168  LECTURE    THE     FIFTH. 

net  supposed  a  brittle  crust  to  have  formed  tlie  earth's  original  sur- 
face, and  a  change  to  have  taken  place,  about  the  era  of  the  deluge, 
in  the  direction  of  its  axis ;  this  imaginary  change,  which  has  been 
sufficiently  disproved  by  modern  astronomers,  freed  the  imprisoned 
waters  from  their  frail  bondage,  and  made  them  overflow  the  earth. 
Whiston  was  still  more  poetical.  He  supposed  our  earth  to  have 
roamed,  for  ages,  through  space. 


"  A  wandering  mass  of  shapeless  flame ; 
A  pathless  comet ;" — Byron. 


till,  at  the  period  of  the  Mosaic  creation,  its  course  was  bridled  in, 
and  it  was  reclaimed  from  its  vagrant  state,  to  begin  the  peaceful 
revolutions  of  a  planet.  But  then  what  occurred  so  soon  to  interrupt 
it,  in  its  orderly  career,  at  the  deluge  ?  Another  comet  is  at  hand, 
let  loose  by  almighty  vengeance  upon  the  wicked  world  ; 

"  Down  an)ain 
Into  the  void  the  outcast  world  descended, 
Wheeling  and  thundering  on  :  its  troubled  seas? 
Were  churned  into  a  spray,  and  whizzing,  flurred 
Around  it  like  a  dew." — Hogg. 

In  this  state  it  bore  down  upon  our  little  globe,  caught  it  up  in  its 
watery  atmosphere,  and  at  once  drowned  and  demolished  it. 

Truly,  theories  such  as  these,  which  caused  Voltaire,  in  his  scof- 
fing mood,  to  say  that  "  philosophers  put  themselves,  without  cere- 
mony, in  the  place  of  God,  and  destroy,  and  renew  the  world  after 
their  own  fashion,"  materially  hurt,  instead  of  assisting,  the  cause  of 
religion.  For  De  la  Beche  has  observed,  that,  when  a  river  grows 
impetuous  in  its  course,  and  threatens  an  inundation,  they  are  the 
bridges  which  men  have  thrown  over  it,  that  they  may  pass  it  in 
safety,  or  the  drains  they  have  constructed  to  turn  it  into  useful  pur- 
poses, which  give  its  waters  a  dangerous  accumulation,  and,  by  op- 
posing a  frail  bar,  impart  to  them,  when  this  is  broken,  a  more  fear- 
ful rush  ;*  and  so  may  we  here  say,  that  the  artificial  means  thus 
taken,  to  pass  unhurt  over  what  were  deemed  the  dangers  of  this 
study,  and  to  apply  it  to  profitable  ends,  did  rather  give  those  dan- 
gers a  greater  power :  and,  as  Dr.  Knight  observes,  when  they  were 

*  "  A  Geological  Manual,"  3d  edit.  1833,  p.  65. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES. 


169 


overthrown  by  the   advance  of  science,  seemed  to  entuJl  some  dis- 
grace upon  the  subjects  they  pretended  to  illustrate.* 

I  am  unwilling  to  say  any  thing  of  living  authors,  where  blame 
must  almost  seem  to  be  cast  upon  labors  directed  by  a  zealous  love  of 
religion,  and  for  the  most  disinterested  purposes.  But  I  am  sure 
that  the  cause  of  religion  is  no  way  served  by  crude  theories,  or  the 
rejection  of  facts  repeatedly  demonstrated.  I  shall  have  to  allude, 
though  very  briefly,  to  the  warm  attacks  made  by  Mr.  Granville  Penn 
upon  Dr.  Bucklund's  discoveries  and  observations  regarding  the 
antediluvian  remains  of  bone-caverns ;  it  is  impossible  not  to  be 
struck  with  the  manner  in  which  he  seizes  hold  of  secondary  or 
inconsiderable  circumstances  and  inferences,  and  denies,  through 
them,  the  more  general  and  important  results.  Mr.  Fairholme  fol- 
lows much  the  same  process :  for  instance,  before  observations  had 
been  well  collated,  .some  geologists  had  considered  the  mastodon  a 
native  exclusively  of  America  ;  the  discovery  of  its  bones  in  Europe 
is  enough,  according  to  him,  to  overthrow  the  whole  systera  of  fossil 
animals. t  If  we  reason  that  there  are  extinct  species  of  animals, 
because  the  huge  bones  of  the  saurians,  or  the  capricious  skeletons 
of  the  ptcrodactyli  have  no  parallel  in  the  known  modern  world,  all 
this  is  inconclusive ;  because  we  have  not  yet  explored  all  the  rivers 
in  the  interior  of  Africa,  and  consequently  know  not  but  these  ani- 
mals may  exist  in  their  vicinity  1% 

But  while  upon  this  theme,  and  while  alluding  to  authors,  who 
reject  all  geological  facts  and  principles,  and  then  pretend  to  recon- 
cile geology  with  the  Mosaic  history  ;  who  severely  reprove  geologists 
for  framing  any  theory  in  their  science,  and  then  fashion  to  them- 
selves two,  one  of  geology,  and  another  of  the  inspired  narrative  ;  I 
cannot  pass  over  one  writer,  who  perhaps,  of  all  others  the  most 
visionary,  partly   by  declamation,  more  by  di,stortion,  chiefly  by  per- 

*  "  Facts  and  Observations  towards  forming  a  New  Theory  of  the 
Earth."  Edinh.  1819,  p.  262.  See,  also,  Conybeare  and  Phillips's  "  Out- 
line of  the  Geology  of  England."  Lond.  1822,  p.  xlix.  And  the  "Cor- 
respondence particiillere  entre  M.  le  Dr.  Teller  et  J.  A.  De.  Luc." 
Hanov.  1803,  p.  161. 

f  "We  know  that,  in  America,  the  remains  of  both  the  31astodon 
and  Mammoth  are  constantly  disrovered  on  the  same  soils.  This  cir- 
cumstance would,  of  itself,  be  sufficient  to  destroy  the  whole  theory  of 
geologists,  who  confine  the  Mastodon  to  America."  A  general  View 
of  the  Geology  of  Scripture,  Lond.  1833,  p.  368. 

I  p.  366. 

22 


170  I.KCTURi:   THE   FIFTH. 

versity  of  reasoning,  attacks  this  study  as  essentially  anlichristian, 
and  consigns  all  foreign  geologists,  at  least,  to  the  anathema  of  true 
believers.  1  allude  to  Dr.  Croly's  "  Divine  Providence,"  a  book 
which  seems  to  assume,  that  Christianity  was  undemonstrated,  till  the 
author  discovered  the  marvellous  parallelism  between  Abel  and  the 
Waldenses,  Enoch  and  the  Bible,  ("  the  two  witnesses  in  sackcloth  !") 
Constantine  and  Moses,  the  relics  of  the  Apostles  and  the  two  gold- 
en calves,  Ezra  and  Luther,  Nehemiah  and  the  Elector  of  Saxony.* 
Surely,  one  so  visionary,  and  one,  moreover,  who  had  been  sufficient- 
ly courageous  to  add  another  baseless  theory  to  the  shivered  frag- 
ments of  preceding  apocalyptic  interpretations,  should  have  paused 
before  he  scoffed  at  a  science  because  of  the  many  systems  imagined 
by  its  cultivators.  To  detail  the  various  inaccuracies,  philological 
and  physical,  in  the  declamations  of  this  vvriter.t — to  expose  the 
false  views  which  he  gives  of  the  tendencies  of  geology,  especially  on 
the  Continent^ — to  confute,  particularly,  the  unjust  and  unjustifi- 
able criticism  he  passes  on  the  views  and  reasonings  of  the  learned 


*  "Divine  Providence  ;  or,  the  Three  Cycles  of  Revelation,"  Lond. 
1834.  Compare  the  preface  with  these  strange  comparisons,  pp.  549, 
571,  581,  etc. 

f  For  instance,  p.  95,  after  Granville  Peim,  Dr.  Croly  denies  that 
the  days  of  creation  can  mean  any  thing  but  tlie  space  of  twenty-four 
hours;  because,  among  other  reasons,  the  Hebrew  word  QV  3/0/71, 
comes  from  the  verb  yanin  fferbidl.)  There  is  no  such  a  verb  in  He- 
brew, (consult  Winer's  Lexicon,  p.  406  ;)  neither  if  there  were,  could 
it  be  root  to  the  other.      In  Arabic,  there  is  a  cognate  verb  '^^^  icama, 

(ferbuit  dies,)  "the  day  was  hot ;"  but  surely  the  simple  term  day,  could 
in  no  language  be  derived  from  the  idea  of  a  hot  day.  To  prove  that 
the  word  day  could  not  syinholically  signify  a  longer  term,  because 
literally  it  means  the  period  of  ligfit,  "the  time  between  two  sunsets," 
is  surely  an  error  in  logic  :  you  tnight  as  well  say  that  night  cannot 
mean  death,  because  it  signifies  the  time  between  sunset  and  sunrise.  I 
do  not  advocate  the  prolongation  of  tiie  days  to  periods  ;  hut  I  think 
it  very  wrong  to  call  men  iniidels  for  doinjj:  so,  when  only  such  errone- 
ous grounds  are  given  to  the  contrary.  The  terms  used  to  express  the 
sun's  standing  still,  are  just  as  literal  and  express  as  those  used  in  the 
history  of  creation  ;  yet  no  one  hesitates  to  take  them  figuratively,  be- 
cause demonstrated  laws  of  physic  compel  us  to  do  so. 

I  Dr.  Croly  always  atteets  to  si)eak  against  yb/-eig-/j  geology:  and 
even  in  a  note  contrasts  with  it  the  conduct  of  the  English  Geological 
Society,  p.  108.  And  yet  he  must  have  known  that  all  eminent  Eng- 
lish geologists  concur  in  the  opinions  he  so  severely  denounces,  of 
great  revolutions  prior  to  tlial  of  the  fleluge. 


NATCRM.    SCIENCES. 


171 


Dr.  Bucklaiid,  would  require  not  much  time,  but  more  than  the  work 
deserves.  The  charge  of  infidelity,  whether  against  a  large  class  of 
men,  or  against  particular  writers,  is  easily  made  ;  it  resembles,  m 
our  days,  the  vague  outcry  of  treason  or  suspicion,  which,  in  times  of 
commotion,  will  bring  down,  without  examination,  popular  indigna- 
tion or  vengeance  upon  the  most  innocent  ;  and  I  know  not  if  there 
be  a  worse  class  of  fe slander  than  that  which  endeavors  to  affix  the 
most  odious  of  stigmas  upon  any  one,  who  shall  dare  to  think  dif- 
ferently from  ourselves  upon  matters  indifferent. 

But  if  we  feel  inclined  to  speak  severely  of  those  who   have  been 
builders  of  systems  without  foundations,  but  with  correct  motives  at 
least,  we  must  not  forget  that  another  class  too  has  been  guilty  of  no 
less,  or  rather  of  far  greater  extravagance,  without  even  this  ground 
for  extenuation  of  censure.       1  allude  to  those  whose  theories  were 
framed  in  direct  opposition  to  the  inspired  records.     The  last  centu- 
ry produced  many  such  in   France  ;  and  one  in  particular,  which  if 
not  intended,  was  at  least  conceived  by  too  many  admirers,  to  be  m 
conflict  with  the  Mosaic  narration.     I  mean  Buffon's,  who  in  his  cel- 
ebrated Epochs  of  Nature,  published  in  1774,  repeated  and  illustra- 
ted  the    Theory  of  the  Earth,  which  he  had   produced  twenty-six 
years   before.*     All  that  brilliancy  of  imagination,  charm  of  style, 
and  decision  of  tone,  could   do  in  favor  of  any  theory,  this  one  cer- 
tainly possessed.     "  He  came  forward,"  says  Howard,  "  no  longer  to 
o-ive  a  bold  conjecture  on  the  formation  and  theory  of  the  universe, 
but  with  pretended  proofs  in  hand,  to  evince  not  only  the  possibility, 
but  on  most  points,  the  necessary  truth,  of  his   former   assertions. 
This  was  no  longer  in  the  style  of  a  man  who  offers  his  conjectures 
to  the  world,  but  in  the  magisterial  and  dictatorial  tone  of  one  who  is 
perfectly  sure  of  whatever  he  advances."!     The  basis  of  his  theory 
was,  that  the  earth  had  originally  been  a  ma.ss  of  fire,  heated  to  an 
almost  incredible  degree,  and  that  it  has  been  gradually  cooling  till 
our  own  times  ;  so  that  at  each  appropriate  stage  in  this  process,  it 
produced  the  plants  and  animals  suited  to  each  degree  of  warmth. 
It  cannot  be  necessary  to  enter  into  any  explanation  of  the  dissen- 

*  Rousseau  wan  among  those  who  placed  Buffon's  system  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  scriptural  account,  and  gave  it  the  preference.— See  De 
Luc,  "  Discours  Pr6liminaire,"  in  his  "  Lettres  sur  I'Histoire  Physique 
de  la  Terre,"  Paris,  1798,  p.  ex. 

f  Howard's  "Thoughts  on  the  Structure  of  the  Globe,"  London, 
1797,  p.  286. 


172  LECTURK    THE    FIFTH. 

sion  which  now  exists  concerning  the  grounds  of  this  theory  ;  that  is 
as  to  whether  a  process  of  gradual  cooling  is  going  on  in  the  earth. 
M.  Arago  contends,  upon  observation,  that  the  exact  accordance  of 
climate,  so  far  as  we  can  reason  between  ancient  and  modern  times, 
will  not  allow  the  admission  of  this  supposition.  And  he  argues  from 
elements  which  a  French  philosopher  at  the  time  of  BuflTon  would,  I 
think,  have  hardly  ventured  to  use,  without  consenting  to  incur  the 
ridicule  of  being  too  credulous.  For,  with  the  books  of  Moses  in  his 
hand,  he  shows  that  the  seasons  in  Palestine  correspond  now  exact- 
ly to  what  they  were  in  his  time,  as  to  order  of  succession  and  power 
of  production  ;  and  he  thence  concludes  that  no  alterations  of  cli- 
mate can  possibly  have  occurred.*  To  which  reasoning,  perhaps, 
it  might  be  objected,  that  a  gradual  change  of  climate,  by  degrees 
almost  imi)erceptible,  except  at  long  intervals,  might  produce  a  cor- 
responding modification  in  the  habits,  if  one  may  so  speak,  of  plants 
and  vegetables.  Connected  with  this  subject,  and  bearing  in  an  in- 
teresting manner  upon  geological  facts,  is  the  question  of  central 
heat,  which  has  been  treated  with  great  mathematical  accuracy  and 
learning  by  Fourrier  and  Poisson,  the  former  maintaining  the  exist- 
ence of  a  radiating  heat  in  the  interior  of  the  earth  ;  the  other, 
while  he  admits  the  experimental  facts,  denying  the  conclusions. 
But  any  discussion  of  this  question  would  lead  us  too  far  from  the 
matter  in  hand. 

From  the  time  of  Bnffon,  system  rose  beside  system,  like  the 
moving  pillars  of  the  desert,  advancing  in  threatening  array;  but 
like  them,  they  were  fabrics  of  sand  ;  and,  though  in  1806  the  French 
Institute  counted  more  than  eighty  such  theories  hostile  to  Scripture 
history,  not  one  of  them  has  stood  till  now,  or  deserves  to  be  re- 
corded. 

The  third  and  most  important  class  of  geologists  comprises  those, 
who,  without  positively  constructing  theories,  have  been  content  to 
collect  phenomena,  and  to  classify  and  compare  them.  And  geolo- 
gy, in  this  its  true  sense,  ows  its  origin  and  principal  development  to 
Italy.  Crocchi,  in  a  preliminary  discourse  to  his  ConcJdologia  fossile 
subapennina,  has  done  ample  justice  to  his  country,  by  describing  a 
series  of  geological  writers,  principally  treating  of  fossils,  such  as  no 
other  country  can  produce.  It  would  be  tedious  to  enumerate  them; 
though  later  I  may  have  to  allude  to  some  of  their  amusing  specula- 


Aiinuaire  du  Bureau  des  Longitudes,"  for  1834. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES. 


173 


tions.  Suffice  it,  for  the  present,  to  say,  that  throughout  their  works 
there  appears  a  fear  of  pushing  their  conclusions  too  far ;  a  sort  of 
lurking  apprehension,  that  if  bold  consequences  were  drawn  from 
their  opinions,  they  might  be  found  at  variance  with  more  important 
truths.  Of  this  uneasiness,  the  writings  of  Moro.-Vallisnieri,  and 
Generelli,  would  furnish  ample  proofs. 

It  is  not,  however,  to  be  understood,  that  in  this  class  are  to  be 
comprehended  writers  indifferent  to  the  bearings  of  their  science  up- 
on religion  :  on  the  contrary,  in  it  are  to  be  placed  its  most  zealous 
upholders,  and  those  who  have  really  served  it  most  effectually,  al- 
though they  hr.ve  carefully  refrained  from  constructing  formal  theo- 
ries of  the  earth.  Thus,  De  Luc,  who  through  the  course  of  a  very 
long  life  never  lost  sight  of  the  Scripture  narrative,  has  been  a  most 
valuable  collector  and  collator  of  facts.  The  researches  of  Dolomieu, 
Cuvier,  Buckland,  and  innumerable  others,  whose  judgment  you 
shall  hear  in  their  proper  places,  have  been  conducted  without  any 
spirit  of  system,  and  yet  have  proved  most  favorable  to  the  cause  of 
truth. 

While  science  is  in  the  hands  of  men  thus  persuaded  of  the  cer- 
tainty of  those  great  leading  facts  which  are  enrolled  in  the  sacred 
account  of  the  world's  early  history,  assuredly  the  writers,  whom  I 
have  quoted  as  hostile  to  this  study,  should  have  little  cause  to  fear. 
So  long,  indeed,  as  phenomena  are  simply  recorded,  and  only  the 
natural  and  obvious  consequences  drawn  from  them,  there  can  be  no 
fear  that  the  results  of  the  study  may  prove  hostile  to  religion.  How 
much  wiser  was  the  counsel  of  Gamaliel,  and  how  applicable  to 
those  who  impugned  these  pursuits :  Refrain  from  these  men  and  let 
them  alone  ;  for  if  the  work  be  of  men,  it  will  fall  to  nothing  ;  but  if  of 
God,  ye  are  not  able  to  destroy  it."*  If  the  representations  they  have 
given  of  nature  are  the  fictions  of  men,  they  cannot  stand  against  the 
progress  of  science ;  if  they  truly  picture  the  work  of  God,  they  must 
be  easily  reconcileable  with  his  revealed  manifestations. 

Before  entering  directly  upon  the  greater  conclusions  of  this  science, 
I  will  stop  to  notice  an  instance  of  one  of  those  popular  objections  raised 
upon  a  specious  reasoning,  from  ill-observed  facts,  which,  for  a  time, 
was  again  and  again  repeated,  and  produced  no  inconsiderable  im- 
pression. Brydone,  in  his  Tour  in  Sicily,  wrote  as  follows  : — "  What 
shall  we  say  of  a  pit  they  sunk  near  to  Jaci,  of  a  great  depth.     They 

*  Acts  5:38,39. 


174  LFXTURE    THE    FIFTH. 

pierced  through  seven  distinct  lavas,  one  over  the  other,  the  surfaces 
of  which  were  ])arallel,  and  most  of  them  covered  with  a  thick  bed  of 
fine  rich  earth.  "Now,"  says  he,  (the  canon  Recupero,)  "  the  erup- 
tion that  formed  the  lowest  of  these  lavas,  if  we  may  be  allowed  to 
reason  from  analogy,"  (that  is,  allowing  two  thousand  years  for  a 
stratum  of  lava  to  be  covered  with  vegetable  mould)  "  must  have 
flowed  from  the  mountain  at  least  fourteen  thousand  years  ago.  Re- 
cupero tells  me  he  is  exceedingly  embarrassed  by  these  discoveries, 
in  writing  the  history  of  the  mountain.  That  Moses  hangs  like  a 
dead  weight  upon  him,  and  blunts  his  zeal  for  inquiry,  for  that  really 
he  has  not  the  conscience  to  make  his  mountain  so  young  as  that 
prophet  makes  the  world.  What  do  you  think  of  these  sentiments 
from  a  Roman  Catholic  divine?  The  bishop,  who  is  strenuously  or- 
thodox, for  it  is  an  excellent  see,  has  already  warned  him  to  be  on 
his  cpuard,  and  not  to  pretend  to  be  a  better  natural  historian  than 
Moses  ;  nor  to  presume  to  urge  any  thing  that  may  in  the  smallest 
degree  be  deemed  contradictory  to  his  sacred  authority."* 

It  is  difficult  to  say  where  to  begin  in  answering  this  absurd  state- 
ment, whether  with  the  scientific  or  with  the  moral  delinquencies  it 
heaps  together.  Some  writers  believed  this  story,  and  gave  the  canon 
credit  for  profound  experience  and  learning  in  this  matter,  and  thus 
were  seduced  bythe  first  class  of  errors;  others,  like  Dr.  Watson,  while 
they  rejected  the  reasoning  pursued,  did  not  spare  either  the  poor 
ecclesiastic  or  his  bishop,  for  their  respective  conduct.t  Both 
classes  were  equally  wrong  ;  for,  in  the  first  place,  it  does  not  take 
two  thousand  years,  nor  two  hundred,  to  cover  lava  with  what,  to  un- 
skilful observers,  will  appear  earth  ;  secondly,  the  strata  of  Jaci 
Reale  are  not  covered  with  vegetable  mould  ;  thirdly  the  canon  Re- 
cupero never  asserted  what  Brydone  has  put  into  his  mouth,  nor 
drew  any  such  consequences. 

The  first  point  has  been  placed  beyond  doubt,  by  a  scientific  ob- 
server, who  surveyed  the  coast  of  Sicily  by  order  of  the  British  gov- 
ernment : — "■  The  practice,"  says  Capt.  Smyth,  "  of  estimating  the 

*  "A  tour  through  Sicily  and  Malta,"  London,  1773,  vol,  i.  p.  131. 

f  "I  will  not  add  more  upon  this  .subject,  except  that  the  bishop  of 
the  dioce.se  was  not  much  out  in  his  advice  to  Canon  Recupero,  to 
take  care  not  to  make  his  mountain  older  than  Moses;  tiiough  it  would 
have  been  fully  as  well  to  have  shut  his  mouth  with  a  reason,  as  to 
have  stopi)ed  it  with  the  dread  of  an  ecclesiastical  censure." — Two 
Apologies,  1816,  p.  156. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES,  175 

ages  of  lava  by  the  subsequent  progress  of  vegetation  is  Ibunded  on 
a  fallacious  theory  ;  as  that  progress  must  depend  on  their  local  situ- 
ation, their  porosity,  and  their  component  parts.  Nor  is  more  de- 
pendence to  be  placed  on  the  alternate  strata  of  lava  and  earth,  as  a 
shower  of  ashes,  assisted  by  filtration  of  rain,  soon  forms  a  stratum 
of  earth  resembling  argil.  Some  of  the  volcanic  masses  of  the  iEoli- 
an  islands,  that  have  existed  beyond  the  reach  of  history,  are  still 
without  a  blade  of  verdure ;  while  others  in  various  parts,  of  little 
more  than  two  hundred  years  date,  bear  spontaneous  vegetation  ; 
and  the  same  is  seen  on  two  lavas  of  ^Etna  near  each  other  ;  for  the 
one  of  1536  is  still  black  and  arid,  while  that  of  1636  is  covered  with 
oaks,  fruit  trees  and  vines."*  Sir  W.  Hamilton  has  made  the  same 
remark  upon  the  lava  currents  which  have  passed  over  Herculaneum, 
the  period  of  whose  destruction  is  so  well  known  in  history.  "  The 
matter  which  covers  the  ancient  town  of  Herculaneum,"  he  says,  "  is 
not  the  produce  of  one  eruption  only  ;  for  there  are  evident  marks 
that  the  matter  of  six  eruptions  has  taken  its  course  over  that  which 
lies  immediately  above  the  town,  and  was  the  cause  of  its  destruction. 
These  strata  are  either  of  lava  or  burnt  matter,  with  veins  of  good 
soil  betwixt  them."f 

The  second  and  third  points  were  sufficiently  made  good  by  Do- 
lomieu,  who  vindicated  the  canon's  character,  while  he  established 
by  personal  observation,  that  no  vegetable  mould  whatever  exists  be- 
tween the  lava  beds  of  Jaci  Reale.  These  are  his  words  :  "  The 
canon  Recupero  deserves  neither  the  praises  which  have  been  be- 
stowed on  his  science,  nor  the  doubts  raised  against  his  orthodoxy. 
He  died  without  any  other  annoyance  than  that  inflicted  on  him  by 
Brydone's  work.  He  could  not  understand  for  what  end  this  stran- 
ger, to  whom  he  had  been  kind,  should  endeavor  to  excite  suspicions 
concerning  the  correctness  of  his  belief.  This  simple  man,  who  was 
very  religious,  and  sincerely  attached  to  the  faith  of  his  fathers,  was 
far  from  admitting,  as  evidence  against  the  book  of  Genesis,  pretend- 
ed facts  which  are  false,  but  from  which,  even  if  true,  nothing  could 
have  been  concluded.  Vegetable  earth,  between  the  several  beds  of 
lava,  do  not  exist ;  and  the  argillaceous  earths  which  are  sometimes 
there,  may  have  been  placed  there  by  means  quite  independent  of 

*  "Memoir  on  Sicily  and  its  Islands,"  London,  J821,  p.  164.     See 
also  Knight,  "  Facts  and  Observations,"  p.  204. 
I  "  Philosoj)hiral  Transactions,"  vol.  Ixi.  p.  7. 


176  LECTUIIE    THE    FIFTH. 

^tna."*  I  will  only  add  to  this  satisfactory  confutation,  from  my 
own  personal  knowledge,  that  Swinburne's  statement  is  incorrect, 
that  Recupero  was  deprived  of  his  benefice,  and  otherwise  persecuted 
in  consequence  of  Brydoiie's  statement.  His  character  was  too  well 
known  at  home  to  be  injured  by  such  calumny  ;  and  in  fact,  after  its 
publication,  he  received  a  pension  from  the  government,  which  he 
enjoyed  till  his  death. t  You  will  further  see,  in  its  proper  place,  how, 
even  if  vegetable  mould  did  exist  between  many  successive  layers  of 
lava,  no  conclusion  could  thence  be  drawn  in  reference  to  the  period 
of  the  present  order  of  things. 

Still  we  cannot  too  harshly  censure  the  cruelty  of  the  slanderer, 
who  could  thus  requite  kindness  by  a  groundless  aspersion,  necessa- 
rily tending  to  bring  suspicion,  if  not  even  ruin,  upon  the  person  whom 
he  called  his  friend.  And  at  the  same  time  this  may  serve  as  an  ex- 
ample of  the  crude  and  ill-directed  speculations  to  which  a  superficial 
and  unscientific  observer  may  bring  himself  and  others. 

And  after  so  long  a  preamble,  come  we  now  to  see,  in  what  way 
the  doctrines  of  geology  bear  upon  the  inspired  records,  and  how  far 
the  phenomena,  observed  by  men  upon  whose  accuracy  we  may  rely, 
are  in  accordance  with  their  artless  narrative. 

The  first  point  of  contact  between  this  study  and  the  Mosaic 
history,  is  the  creation  of  the  world.  Dr.  Sumner  thus  briefly  enu- 
merates the  questions  whereon  the  connexions  between  the  two  may 
be  discussed.  "  The  account  in  Genesis  may  be  briefly  summed  up 
in  these  three  articles  :  first,  that  God  was  the  original  Creator  of  all 
things  ;  secondly,  that  at  the  formation  of  the  globe  we  inhabit,  the 
whole  of  its  materials  were  in  a  state  of  chaos  and  confusion  ;  and 
thirdly,  that  at  a  period  not  exceeding  5,000  years  ago,  (5,400) — 
whether  we  adopt  the  Hebrew  or  Septuagint  chronology  is  immateri- 
al— the  whole  earth  underwent  a  mighty  catastrophe,  in  which  it 
was  completely  inundated,  by  the  immediate  agency  of  the  Deity. "| 

Some  writers  have  attempted  to  read  the  days  of  creation  step  by 
step  in  the  present  appearances  of  the  world,  and  to  give  a  history  of 
each  successive  production,  from  light  to  man,  as  recorded  upon  the 
face  of  the  globe.  All  this,  however  laudable  in  its  object,  is  not 
certainly  satisfactory  in  its  results.     The  first  portion  of  my  task, 

*  "Memoire  sur  les  isles  Ponces,"  Paris,  1788,  p.  471. 
t  "Journal  des  Savans,"  1788,  p.  457. 
I  "  Records  of  Creation,"  vol.  2,  p.  344. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  177 

therefore,  shall  be  rather  negative  than  positive, — an  attempt  to  show 
you  that  the  startling  discoveries  of  modern  science  no  ways  clash, 
or  stand  at  variance,  with  the  Mosaic  narrative. 

And  in  the  first  place,  the  modern  geologist  must,  and  gladly 
will,  acknowledge  the  accuracy  of  the  statement,  that  after  all  things 
were  made,  the  earth  must  have  been  in  a  state  of  chaotic  confusion  ; 
in  other  words,  that  theelements,  which  later  were  to  combine  in  the 
present  arrangement  of  the  globe,  must  have  been  totally  disturbed, 
and  probably  in  a  state  of  conflicting  action.  What  the  duration  of 
this  anarchy  was,  what  peculiar  features  it  presented,  whether  it  was 
one  course  of  unmodified  disorder,  or  was  interrupted  by  intervals  of 
peace  and  quiet,  of  vegetable  and  animal  existence,  the  Scripture  has 
concealed  from  our  knowledge  :  while  it  has  said  nothing  to  dis- 
courage such  investigation,  as  may  lead  us  to  any  specific  hypothesis 
regarding  it.  Nay,  it  would  seem  as  though  that  indefinite  period 
had  been  purposely  mentioned,  to  leave  scope  for  the  meditation  and 
the  imagination  of  man.  The  words  of  the  text  do  not  merely  ex- 
press a  momentary  pause  between  the  first  fiat  of  creation,  and  the 
production  of  light ;  for  the  participial  form  of  the  verb,  whereby  the 
Spirit  of  God,  the  creative  energy,  is  represented  as  brooding  over 
the  abyss,  and  communicating  to  it  the  productive  virtue,  naturally 
expresses  a  continuous,  not  a  passing  action.  The  very  order  ob- 
served in  the  six  days'  creation,  which  has  reference  to  the  present 
disposition  of  things,  seems  to  show  that  divine  power  loved  to  mani- 
fest itself  by  gradual  developments,  ascending  as  it  were,  by  a  meas- 
ured scale  from  the  inanimate  to  the  organized,  from  the  insensible  to 
the  instinctive,  from  the  irrational  to  man.  And  what  repugnance  is 
there  in  the  supposition,  that,  from  the  first  creation  of  the  rude  em- 
bryo of  this  beautifid  world,  to  the  dressing  out  thereof  with  its  come- 
liness and  furniture,  proportioned  to  the  wants  and  habits  of  man,  it 
may  have  also  chosen  to  keep  a  similar  ratio  and  scale,  through 
which  life  should  have  progressively  advanced  to  perfection,  both  in 
its  inward  power,  and  in  its  outward  instruments.  If  the  appearan- 
ces discovered  by  geology  shall  manifest  the  existence  of  any  such 
plan,  who  will  venture  to  say  that  it  agrees  not,  by  strictest  analogy, 
with  the  ways  of  God,  in  the  physical  and  moral  rule  of  this  world? 
Or  who  will  assert  that  it  clashes  with  His  sacred  word,  seeing  that 
in  this  indefinite  period,  wherein  this  work  of  gradual  development  is 
placed,  we  are  left  entirely  in  the  dark.  Unless  indeed,  with  one 
now  enjoying  high  ecclesiastical  preferment,  we   suppose  allusion 

23 


178  LECTURE    THE    TIFTH. 

made  to  such  primeval  revolutions,  that  is  destructions  and  reproduc- 
tions, in  the  first  chapter  of  Ecclesiastes  ;*  or  with  others  we  take 
the  passages  wherein  worlds  are  said  to  have  been  created  in  their 
most  literal  sense. t 

It  is  indeed  singular  that  all  ancient  cosmogonies  should  conspire 
to  suggest  the  same  idea,  and  preserve  the  tradition  of  an  early  series 
of  successive  revolutions,  whereby  the  world  was  destroyed  and  re- 
newed. The  institutes  of  Menu,  the  Indian  work  most  closely 
agreeing  with  the  scripture  narrative  of  the  creation,  says  :  "  There 
are  creations  also  and  destructions  of  worlds  innumerable  ;  the  su- 
premely exalted  Being  performs  all  this  with  as  much  ease  as  if  in 
sport,  again  and  again,  for  the  sake  of  conferring  happiness. "|  The 
Birmese  have  similar  traditions  ;  and  a  scheme  of  their  various  des- 
tructions of  the  world  by  fire  and  water,  may  be  seen  in  the  interest- 
ing work  of  Sangermono,  translated  by  my  friend  Dr.  Tandy. §  The 
Egyptians,  too,  have  by  their  great  cycle,  or  Sothic  period,  recorded 
a  similar  opinion. 

But  I  think  it  much  more  important  and  interesting  to  observe, 
how  the  early  fathers  of  the  Christian  Church  should  seem  to  have 
entertained  precisely  similar  views  ;  for  St.  Gregory  Nazianzen,  after 
St.  Justin  Martyr,  supposes  an  indefinite  period  between  the  creation 
and  the  first  ordering  of  all  things.|l  St.  Basil,  St.  Csesarius,  and 
Origen,  are  much  more  explicit ;  for  they  account  for  the  creation  of 
light  prior  to  that  of  the  sun,  by  supposing  this  luminary  to  have  in- 
deed before  existed,  yet  so  as  that  its  rays  were  prevented,  by  the 
dense  chaotic  atmosphere,  from  penetrating  to  the  earth;  this  was  on 
the  first  day  so  far  rarified  as  to  allow  the  transmission  of  the  sun's 
rays,  though  not  the  discernment  of  its  disk,  which  was  fully  display- 
ed on  the  third  day.^     This  hypothesis  Boubee  adopts  as  highly  con- 


*  "  Ricerclie  sulla  Geologia,"  Rovereto,  1824,  p.  63. 
f  Ileh.  1:  2.     In  like  manner  one  of  llie  titles  of  God  in  the  Koran 
'S,  (.v./.^.5\.J?Jf  lJ  ) — '^'^  Lord  of  the  worlds. — Sura  i. 

I  Institutes  of  Hindu  Law,"  Lond.  1825,  chap.  i.  No.  80,  p.  13,  comp. 
No.  57,  74,  ore. 

§  "A  Dt'scn[)tion  of  the  Birrnese  Empire,"  printed  for  the  Oriental 
Translation  Fund,  Rome,  1833,  p.  29. 

II  Orat.  2.  torn.  i.  j).  51,  ed.  Bened. 

H  "St.  Basil  Hexfemer,"  horn.  2.  Paris,  1G18,  p.  23.  "  St.  Csesarius, 
Dial.  i.  Bihlioth.  Pat.  Gallandi,"  Fen,  1770,  torn.  vi.  p.  •'^7.  "Origen 
Periarch,"  lib.  4.  c.  ](>,  ton),  i.  j).  174,  ed.  Beuea, 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  1'*' 


formable  to  the  theory  of  central  heat,  and  the  consequent  solution  of 
substances  in  the  atmosphere  ;  which  would  gradually  be  precipitated 
as  the  dissolving  medium  cooled.*  Nay,  if  Dr.  Croly  is  so  indignant 
at  some  geologists,  for  considering  the  days  of  creation  indehnite 
periods,  because  according  to  its  etymology  the  word  used  signifies 
"the  time  between  two  sunsets,"  what  will  he  say  to  Origen,  who, 
in  the  passage  I  have  alluded  to,eyxlaims;  "  who  that  has  sense  can 
think  that  the  first,  second,  and  third  days  were  without  sun,  or 
moon,  or  stars?"  Assuredly  the  time  between  two  sunsets  would 
exist  most  anomalously  without  a  sun. 

In  making  these  remarks,  I  am  not  guided  by  a  personal  predi- 
lection for  any  system.     I  have  no  claim  to  be  called  a  geologist ;  I 
have  studied  the  science  more  in  its  history  than   in  its  practical 
principles;  rather  to  watch  its  bearings  upon  more  sacred  researches, 
than  from  any  hope  of  personally  applying  it.     I  will  just  now  give 
you  another  method,  whereby  some  able  geologists  think  they  prove 
the  beautiful  accordance  of  this  study  with  Scripture.     I  do  not  pre- 
tend—it would  be  presumption  in  me  to  pretend— to  judge  between 
the  two,  or  pronounce  upon  the  reasons  which  each  may  advance 
But   I  am   anxious  to   show  that  there  is   sufficient   room,    without 
trenchincT  upon  sacred  ground,  for  all  that  modern  geology  thinks  it 
has  a  right  to  demand.     I  am  anxious,-and  I  trust  the  authorities  I 
iust  now  crave  will  secure  that  point,-to  show,  that  what  has  been 
claimed  or  postulated  by  it,  nas  oeen  accorded  of  old  by  ornaments 
and  lights  of  early  Christianity,  who  assuredly  would  not  have  sacri- 
ficed one  tittle  of  scriptural  truth. 

But  what,  you  will  ask  me,  renders  it  necessary,  or  expedient, 
thus  to  suppose  some  intermediate  period,  between  the  act  of  creation, 
and  the  subsequent  ordering  of  things,  as  they  now  exist  ?  According 
to  my  plan,  it  is  my  duty  to  explain  this  point,  and  I  will  endeavor  to 
do  so  with  all  possible  brevity  and  simplicity.  Within,  comparatively 
a  few  years,  a  new  and  most  important  element  has  been  introduced 
into  geolocrical  observation-the  discovery  and  comparison  oi  fossil 
remains.  °Every  one  of  my  hearers  is  doubtless  aware,  that,  in  many 
parts  of  the  world,  enormous  bones  have  been  found,  which  used  to 
be  considered  those  of  the  elephant-the  mammoth  as  it  was  called, 
from  a  Siberian  word,  designating  a  fabulous  subterraneous  animal 
Besides  these  and  similar  remains,  vast  accumulations  of  shdls^a^ 

*  Geologie  'Elementaire  a  lapoit^e  de  tout  le  Monde,"  Paris,  1833, 
p.  37. 


180  LECTURE    THK    FII'TH. 

impressions  of  fishes  in  stones,  as  at  Monte  Bolca,  have  been  at  all 
times  discovered,  in  every  countr}'.  All  these  used  formerly  to  be 
referred  to  the  delu;^e,  and  quoted  as  evidence  that  the  waters  had 
covered  tiie  entire  globe,  and  extinguished  terrestrial  life,  as  well  as 
deposited  marine  productions  upon  the  dry  land.  But  perhaps  you 
will  hardly  believe  rne  u'hen  I  say,  that,  for  many  years,  the  fiercest 
controversy  vvas  carried  on  in  thi^  country  (Italy)  upon  the  question, 
whether  these  sliells  were  real  shells,  and  had  once  contained  fish,  or 
were  only  natural  productions,  formed  by,  what  was  called,  the 
'plastic  power  of  nature,'  imitating  real  forms.  Agricola,  followed 
by  the  sagacious  Andrea  Mattioli,  affirmed,  that  a  certain  fat  matter, 
set  in  fermentation  by  heat,  produced  these  fossil  shapes.*  Mercati, 
in  1574,  stoutly  maintained,  that  tlie  fossil  shells  collected  in  the 
Vatican,  by  Sixtus  V,  were  mere  stones,  which  had  received  their 
configuration  from  the  influence  of  celestial  bodies  ;t  and  the  cele- 
brated physician  Falloppio  asserted,  that  they  were  formed,  wherever 
found,  by,  "  the  tumultuary  movements  of  terrestrial  exhalations." 
Nay,  this  learned  author  was  so  adverse  to  all  idea  of  deposits,  as 
boldly  to  maintain,  that  the  potsherds,  which  form  the  singular 
mound,  known  to  you  all  under  the  name  of  Monte  Testaceo,  were 
natural  productions,  sports  of  nature  to  mock  the  works  of  man. J 
Such  were  the  straits,  to  which  these  zealous  and  able  men  found 
themselves  reduced,  to  account  for  the  phenomena  they  had  observed. 
As  a  more  accurate  attention  was  paid  to  the  order,  and  to  the 
strata,  in  which  the  remainsof  animals  were  found,  it  was  perceived, 
that  there  was  a  certain  ratio  existing  between  the  two.  It  vvas, 
moreover,  observed,  that  many  of  these  remains  lie  entombed  in 
situations  which  the  action  of  the  deluge,  however  violent  and  ex- 
tensive, could  never  have  reached.     For,  we  must  suppose  this  action 


*  "Agricola  sognavii  in  (rertrianin,  rhe  allu  forniazione  di  questi 
corpi  fosse  concorsa  nou  .so  qual  iiiatci  ia  pingiie,  inessa  in  fermento  da! 
calore.  .Andrea  Mattioli  addotio  in  Italia  i.  medesimi  proi.'iiidizii." — 
Brocclii,  Couchiologia  Fossile  Subaijeniiiiiu,  torn.  i.  Milan,  18J4,  p.  5. 

f  "  Egli  iiieira  clie  If;  coiieliiglie  Iripidefatte  sieno  vere  <;<)nrliigiie;  e 
(iopo  un  lunghissin)o  discorso,  sidla  materia  e  ^;^liia  forma  sostaiiziale, 
coiicliiude  clie  sono  pietre  in  cotal  giiisa  configuraie  dall,  influenza  dei 
corpi  celesti."     //;.  p.  8. 

J  "  Concepisce  piu  faciiinente  die  le  cliiocciole  ini|)ietrite  siaiio 
Slate  generate  sul  liiogo,  dalla  fermentazioiK;,  o  pure,  die  abbiano  ac- 
quisiato  quelle  fortna,  mediante  il  niovimento  vorlicoso  dolle  esalazioni 
terrestri."  [).  6. 


NATURAi.    SCIf:NCES. 


181 


to  have  been  exercised  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  to  have 
left  signs  of  a  disturbing  and  destructive  agency  ;  whereas,  these  re- 
mains were  found  below  the  strata  which  form  the  outermost  rind  of 
the  earth's  crust;  and  this  reposed  over  them  with  all  the  symptoms 
of  a  gradual  and  quiet  deposit.  Again,  if  we  consider  these  two  ob- 
servations in  unison,  supposing  the  whole  to  have  been  deposited  by 
the  deluge,  we  should  expect  to  find  them  mixed  in  complete  con- 
fusion :  whereas,  we  discover  that  the  lower  strata,  for  instance,  ex- 
hibit peculiar  classes  of  fossils;  then,  those  which  are  superimposed, 
are  again  pretty  uniform  in  their  contents,  though,  in  many  cases, 
they  differ  from  their  inferior  deposits,  and  so  forward  to  the  surface. 
Which  symmetry  of  deposition  through  each  range,  while  it  is  dis- 
similar to  the  preceding  one,  supposes  a  succession  of  actions  exer- 
cised upon  varied  materials,  and  not  one  convulsive  and  violent  catas- 
trophe. But  this  conclusion  seems  put  out  of  doubt,  by  the  still  more 
unexpected  discovery,  that,  while  in  moveable  beds,  or  wherever  the 
deluge  can  be  supposed  to  have  left  its  traces,  we  find  the  bones  of 
animals  belonging  to  existing  genera  ;  among  the  more  deeply-seat- 
ed fossils  such  are  never  discovered.  On  the  contrary,  their  skele- 
tons give  us  a  representation  of  monsters,  whether  considered  in  their 
dimensions  or  their  forms,  such  as  have  not  even  analogous  species 
now  existing,  and  should  seem  to  have  been  incompatible  with  the 
coexistence  of  the  human  race- 

This  latter  consideration  deserves  some  illustration,  because  it 
will  introduce  such  as  have  not  paid  attention  to  this  science,  to  some 
knowledge  of  its  recent  discoveries.  They  may,  perhaps,  wonder 
how,  from  a  few  fractured  bones,  any  judgment  can  be  formed  of  the 
animals  to  which  they  belonged.  Some  years  ago  the  problem 
would  have  appeared  absurd, — to  reconstruct  an  animal  from  one  of 
his  bones ;  and  yet  we  may  truly  say,  that  it  has  been  most  fully 
solved.  It  may  be,  perhaps,  unnecessary  to  observe,  that  so  perfect 
is  the  individuality  of  each  species  of  animals,  that  every  bone,  almost 
every  tooth,  is  sufficiently  characteristic  to  determine  its  shape. 
The  careful  study  of  these  varieties,  and  the  analogous  results  to 
which  it  always  leads,  were  the  basis  on  which  the  lamented  Cuvier 
rested  his  extraordinary  construction  of  this  new  science.  The  hab- 
its or  characters  of  animals,  as  I  once  before  had  occasion  to  remark, 
impress  their  peculiarities  upon  every  portion  of  their  frames:  the 
carnivorous  animal  is  not  merely  so  from  its  fangs  and  its  claws ; 
every  muscle  must  be  proportioned  to  the  strength  and  agility  re- 


182  LKCTURE    THE    FIFTH. 

quired  for  its  metiiod  of  living,  and  every  muscle  grooves  the  bones 
which  it  grasps,  or  under  which  it  passes,  with  a  corresponding  cav- 
ity. Nothing  can  be  more  curious  than  the  convincing,  though  un- 
expected analogies  by  which  Cuvier  confirms  his  theory ;  for  he 
shows  a  constant,  and  ever  proportioned  relation  between  parts  ap- 
parently unconnected,  such  as  the  feet  and  the  teeth. 

When,  however,  he  first  commenced  the  application  of  his  prin- 
ciples of  comparative  anatomy  to  the  broken  remains  of  bones  dug 
up  in  the  limestone  quarries  of  Montmartre,  he  soon  discovered  that 
they  were  referable  to  no  species  now  inhabiting  the  globe.  Yet 
so  sure  were  the  scientific  principles  which  guided  him,  that  he  easi- 
ly apportioned  the  bones  to  different  animals,  according  to  their  vari- 
ous structure  and  size  ;  and  he  pronounced  them  to  represent  ani- 
mals of  the  pachydermatous,  or  thick-skinned  class,  and  most  closely 
allied  to  the  tapir.  He  distinguished  two  genera,  and  discovered 
even  several  subdivisions,  and  gave  them  their  appropriate  names. 
The  two  genera  he  styled  the  palmotherium  or  ancient  animal,  and 
the  anaplotherium  or  unarmed,  from  the  circumstance  of  the  one  be- 
ing distinguished  from  the  other  by  a  want  of  tusks.  His  results 
must  not,  however,  be  looked  upon  as  mere  conjectures  :  for  when  it 
happened,  after  he  had  constructed  from  such  analogy  the  skeleton 
of  any  animal,  that  an  entire  skeleton,  or  any  part  not  before  pos- 
sessed, was  discovered,  he  was  found  to  have  been  invariably  right 
in  his  suppositions,  and  in  no  case,  I  believe,  was  it  found  necessary 
to  modify  his  conjectural  restoration.* 

In  some  instances,  indeed,  naturalists  have  been  sufficiently  for- 
tunate to  discover  the  spoils  of  these  extinct  monsters  in  such  com- 
pleteness, as  to  dispense  with  the  toilsome  process  I  have  explained. 
Spain,  for  example,  was  early  in  possession  of  an  almost  complete 
skeleton  of  the  megatherium,  as  it  is  now  called,  sent  over  from  Bue- 
nos Ayres,  in  1789,  by  the  Marquis  de  Loreto  ;  it  was  reunited  in 
the  cabinet  of  Madrid,  and  published  in  plates  by  Juan  Bautista  Bru. 
Other  fragments,  indeed  a  considerable  portion  of  the  bones,  of  the 
same  animal,  have  been  since  brought  over  to  England  by  Mr.  Parish, 


*  See  his  principles  in  the  "  Extrait  d'un  ouvrage  snr  les  esp^ces 
de  quadnipedes  dent  on  a  trouv6  les  ossemens  dans  I'interieur  de  la 
Terra,"  p.  4  ;  in  his  "Discours  preliminaire,  Recherclies  snr  les  osse- 
mens fossiles,"  vol.  i.  p.  58.  Published  likewise  separately.  See  also 
vol.  iii.  p.  9,  seqq.  for  the  processes  followed  in  the  creation,  as  he  calls 
it,  of  the  new  genera. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  183 

and  presented  by  him  to  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons  ;  and,  fortu- 
nately, they  serve  in  a  great  measure  to  fill  up  the  defective  parts  of 
the  Madrid  specimen.*  We  have  thus  an  animal,  with  the  head  and 
shoulders  of  the  sloth,  yet  with  limbs  and  feet  between  the  armadil- 
lo's and  the  ant-eater's.  But,  at  the  same  time,  it  must  have  equalled 
the  largest  elephant  in  size,  being  thirteen  feet  long,  and  nine  high. 

Still  more  strange  are  the  classes  of  animals  allied  to  the  saurian., 
or  lizard  tribe  ;  the  enormous  dimensions,  and  almost  chimerical 
shapes,  of  some  among  which,  would  hardly  have  been  conceived  by 
the  imagination.  The  ?)iegaIosatfrits,  as  it  has  been  justly  named  by 
Dr.  Buckland,  was  at  least  thirty  feet  long ;  indeed,  judging  from  a 
specimen  found  in  Tilgate  Forest,  in  Sussex,  it  seems,  after  making 
every  reduction,  to  have  attained  the  frightful  length  of  sixty  or  sev- 
enty feet.f  The  ichthyosaurus,  or  fish  lizard,  when  discovered  in 
parts,  presented  such  strange  incongruities,  that  its  limbs  could  hard- 
ly be  supposed  to  belong  to  the  same  animal.  It  was  not  till  after 
repeated  discoveries,  that  Conybeare  and  De  la  Beche  produced  an 
animal,  with  the  head  of  a  lizard,  a  fish's  body,  and  four  paddles  in- 
stead of  legs.  The  size  of  some  of  these  monsters  must  have  been 
enormous,  as  the  specimens  in  the  British  Museum  will  satisfy  any 
observer.  Still  more  fantastical  is  the  formation  of  the  plesiosaurus, 
or,  as  it  has  been  now  more  properly  named,  enaliosauriis,  or  sea-lizard, 
which,  to  characteristics  similar  to  the  others,  joins  a  neck  longer 
than  that  of  any  swan,  at  the  extremity  of  which  is  a  very  small 
head. I  In  fine,  not  to  detain  you  upon  such  mere  illustrations,  an- 
other far  more  extraordinary,  and,  I  might  almost  say  fabulous,  ani- 
mal, has  been  discovered,  to  which  the  name  of  ptcrodactylus  has 
been  given  by  Cuvier,  who  first  determined  its  character  from  a 
drawing  by  Collini,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  afterwards  seeing  his 
decision  confirmed  by  several  specimens.  This  he  pronounces  to 
have  been  the  strangest  animal  of  the  ancient  world  ;  for  it  had  the 
body  of  a  reptile  or  lizard,  with  excessively  long  legs,  manifestly 
formed,  like  the  bat's,  to  expand  a  membrane,  by  which  it  was  ena- 


*  See  a  plate,  showing  the  parts  supplied  by  each,  in  the  "  Geologi- 
cal Transactions,"  New  Series,  vol.  iii.  1835,  plate  xliv.  with  a  minute 
description  by  Mr.  Clift,  p,  437. 

t  Ibid.  vol.  i.  1825,  p.  391. 

\  See  "Geological  Transactions,"  vol.  i.  pp.  43,  103. 


184  LECTURE    THE    FIFTH. 

bled  to  fly,  a  long  beak,  armed  with  sharp  teeth  ;  and  it  must  have 
been  covered,  neither  with  hair  nor  feathers,  but  with  scales.* 

These  examples,  out  of  many,  may  be  sufficient  to  show  you, 
that  the  species  of  animals  found  imbedded  in  limestone,  or  other 
rocks,  have  no  corresponding  types  in  the  present  world ;  and  that, 
if  we  consider  them  in  contrast  with  the  existing  genera,  which  are 
found  in  more  superficial  beds,  we  must  conclude  that  they  were  not 
destroyed  by  the  same  revolution,  as  swept  the  latter  from  the  face  of 
the  earth,  to  be  renewed  from  the  specimens  preserved  by  God's 
command. 

Some  naturalists  have,  in  spite  of  the  valuable  use  made,  by  our 
geologists,  of  fossil  remains,  even  in  the  comparison  of  mineralogical 
strata,  persisted  in  excluding  them  from  geology,  as  foreign  to  the 
science.!  But  it  is  impossible  to  shut  our  eyes  to  the  new  light 
which  these  discoveries  have  shed  upon  its  study,  and,  consequently, 
to  neglect  considering  the  relation  in  which  the  science,  thus  en- 
larged, stands  to  the  scriptural  account.  So  far,  I  think  that,  how- 
ever negative  our  conclusion  may  appear,  it  is  highly  important ;  for 
the  first  step  in  the  connexion  of  any  science  with  revelation,  after 
it  has  passed  through  the  tumultuary  period  of  crude,  conflicting  the- 
ory, is,  that  it  gives  no  result  adverse  to  revelation.  And  this  is,  in 
fact,  a  positive  confirmation.  For,  as  I  will  more  fully  demonstrate 
in  my  concluding  lecture,  the  beautiful  manner  in  which  the  scriptu- 
ral narrative,  subjected  to  the  examination  of  the  most  different  pur- 
suits, defies  their  power  therein  to  discover  any  error,  forms,  in  the 
aggregate  of  various  examples,  a  strong  positive  proof  of  its  unassail- 
able veracity.  Thus  here,  had  the  Scripture  allowed  no  interval  be- 
tween creation  and  organization,  but  declared  that  they  were  simulta- 
neous or  closely  consecutive  acts,  we  should,  perhaps,  have  stood 
perplexed  in  the  reconciliation  between  its  assertions  and  modern 
discoveries.  But  when,  instead  of  this,  it  leaves  an  undecided  inter- 
val between  the  two,  nay  more,  informs  us  that  there  was  a  state  of 
confusion  and  conflict,  of  waste  and  darkness,  and  a  want  of  a  pro- 
per  basin  for  the  sea,  which  thus  would   cover  first  one  part  of  the 

*  "  Osseriiens  Fossiles,"  vol.  iv.  p.  36  ;  vol.  v.  part  ii.  p.  379.  De  la 
Beclie,  in  "Geological  Transactions,"  vol.  iii.  p.  217. 

t  As  Dr.  Mac  Culioch,  in  his  "  System  of  Geology,  with  a  Theory  of 
the  earth,"  London,  1831,  vol.  1.  p.  430. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  185 

earth,  and  then  another;  we  may  truly  say,  that  the  geologist  reads 
in  those  few  lines  the  history  of  the  earth,  such  as  his  monuments 
have  recorded  it, —  a  series  of  disruptions,  elevations  and  disloca- 
tions ;  sudden  inroads  of  the  unchained  element,  entombing  succes- 
sive generations  of  amphibious  animals;  calm,  but  unexpected  sub- 
sidences of  the  waters,  embalming  in  their  various  beds  their  myri- 
ads of  aquatic  inhabitants;*  alternations  of  sea  and  land,  and  fresh- 
water lakes ;  an  atmosphere  obscured  by  dense  carbonic  vapor, 
which,  by  gradual  absorption  in  the  waters,  was  cleared  away,  and 
produced  the  pervading  mass  of  calcareous  formations  ;  till  at  length 
came  the  last  revolution  preparatory  for  our  creation,  when  the  earth, 
being  now  sufficiently  broken  for  that  beautiful  diversity  which  God 
intended  to  bestow  on  it,  or  to  produce  those  landmarks  and  barriers 
which  his  foreseeing  counsels  had  designed,  the  work  of  ruin  was 
suspended,  save  for  one  more  great  scourge;  and  the  earth  remained  in 
that  state  of  sullen  and  gloomy  prostration,  from  which  it  was  recalled 
by  the  reproduction  of  light,  and  the  subsequent  work  of  the  six  days' 
creation. 

But  I  think  we  may  well  say,  that  even  on  this  first  point  of  our 
geological  investigation,  science  has  gone  further  than  I  have  stated. 
For  I  think  we  are  in  a  fair  way  to  discover  so  beautiful  a  simplicity 
of  action  in  the  causes  which  have  produced  the  present  form  of  the 
earth,  and,  at  the  same  time,  such  a  manifest  approach  to  the  pro- 
gressive method  manifested  in  the  known  order  of  God's  works,  as  to 
confirm,  if  such  a  term  may  be  used,  all  that  he  hath  manifested  in 
his  own  sacred  word. 

For  when  I  have  spoken  of  successive  revolutions,  destructions 
and  reproductions,  I  have  meant  not  a  mere  series  of  unconnected 
changes,  but  the  steady  action  of  a  single  cause,  producing  most 
complete  variations,  according  to  established  laws.  And  this,  I  may 
say,  it  is  certainly  the  tendency  of  modern  geology  to  establish. 
I  have  before  slightly  touched  on  the  subject  of  central  heat,  or  the 
existence  of  a  principle  of  that  power,  in  the  interior  of  the  earth  ; 
whether  it  arise  from  the  former  state  of  the  globe,  or  from  some  oth- 
er source,  it  matters  not.  That  its  action  can  be  even  now  sufficient- 
ly violent  to  effect  revolutions  on  our  earth, — great,  if  viewed  in  re- 
ference to  particular  tracts, — in  miniature,  if  compared  to  its  prime- 


*  See  this  point  beautifully  treated  by  De  la  Beche,  "  Researches 
into  Theoretical  Geoiogy,"  London,  1834,  chap.  xii.  p.  242. 

24 


186 


LECTURK    THE    FIFTH. 


val  efforts, — must  be  known,  from  observation,  to  most  of  you  who 
have  visited  the  scenes  of  volcanic  action.  There,  islands  have  been 
formed  and  swallowed  up  again,  hills  have  been  raised,  the  cones  of 
mountains  broken  down,  the  sea  has  altered  its  boundaries,  and  fruit- 
ful fields  have  been  changed  into  black  tracts  of  desolation.  Sup- 
pose this  power  acting  on  a  gigantic  scale,  not  in  one  district,  but 
over  the  entire  world,  now  bursting  out  on  one  side,  and  now  on  the 
other  ;  the  effects  must  have  been  convulsive  to  a  frightful  degree, 
the  disruptions  must  have  been  far  more  tremendous,  and  mountains 
must  have  been  heaved  up  instead  of  hills,  like  Monte  Rosso,  which 
.^^tna  raised  in  1609,  or  the  sea  may  have  invaded  large  territories, 
instead  of  small  tracts  of  coast. 

The  observations  of  geologists  go  far  towards  proving  the  action 
of  some  such  power,  in  the  manner  which  I  have  described  :  Leo- 
pold von  Buch,  first  proved  that  mountains,  instead  of  being  the  most 
immovable  and  firm  portions  of  the  earth's  structure,  and  existing  pre- 
viously to  the  softer  materials  which  repose  on  their  sides,  have,  on  the 
contrary,  been  raised  up  through  these,  by  an  upheaving  action  from 
below.  M.  Elie  de  Beaumont  has  carried  this  observation  so  much 
further,  as  almost  to  be  considered  the  founder  of  the  theory.  One 
simple  demonstration  of  it  you  will  easily  comprehend.  If  the  vari- 
ous strata  on  the  side  of  a  mountain,  though  necessarily  precipita- 
tions of  a  solution  in  water,  instead  of  lying  horizontally,  as  such 
precipitations  must  do,  and  consequently  cutting  the  mountain's 
side  at  angles,  thus,  {a  being  the  section  of  the  mountain,  and  b 
representing  the  surrounding  strata,) 


shall,  on  the  contrary,  lie  parallel  to  its  sides  in  this  manner, 

a 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  187 

it  is  manifest  that  the  mountain  must  have  been  thrust  up  through 
the  strata  already  deposited.  M.  de  Beaumont,  by  comparing  the 
various  strata  thus  perforated,  as  it  were,  by  each  chain  of  mountains, 
with  those  which  lie  in  horizontal  order,  as  if  deposited  after  its  ele- 
vation, endeavors  to  determine  the  period,  in  the  series  of  primeval 
revolutions,  when  each  was  upraised.  And  each  of  these  systems  of 
mountains,  as  he  calls  them,  produced,  or  accompanied  some  great 
catastrophe,  destructive  to  a  certain  extent,  of  the  existing  order  of 
things.*  This  system  of  the  French  geologists  has  been  confirmed 
and  adopted  by  the  scientific  men  of  our  own  country.  Professor 
Sedgwick  and  Mr.  Murchison  remark  upon  the  phenomena  observa- 
ble in  the  isle  of  Arran,  that  they  seem  to  prove  the  great  dislocations 
of  tiie  secondary  strata,  to  have  been  "  produced  by  the  elevation  of 
the  granite  ;"  in  which  case,  "  the  upheaving  forces  must  have  been 
in  action  some  time  after  the  deposition  and  consolidation  of  the 
new  red  sandstone."!  But  De  la  Beche  is  clearly  of  opinion  that 
these  successive  elevations,  indicative  of  the  convulsions  which  dis- 
turbed the  quiet  action  of  sedimentary  depositions,  may  be  further 
simplified,  by  reference  to  one  cause,  that  is  the  power  of  a  great 
central  heat,  variously  breaking  the  earth's  crust,  whether  by  the 
progress  of  refrigeration,  as  he  supposes,!  or  as  the  author  of  the 
theory  imagines,  by  volcanic  action. 

Now  it  seems  to  me  that  this  theory,  by  its  beautiful  unity  in  cause 
and  action,  is  in  perfect  accordance  with  all  we  know  of  the  methods  \ 

t)sed  by  divine  Providence,  which  establishes  a  law  and  then  leaves  i  j(^  ' 
it  to  act ;  so  that  the  budding  forth  of  mountain  chains  should  be  the 
well-timed  effect  of  causes,  constant  in  rule,  though  irregular  in  ac- 
tion ;  just  as  much  as  the  putting  forth  of  the  new  germ  is  the  yearly 
consequence  of  the  same  action  of  heat,  on  the  plant.  But  it  seems, 
moreover,  in  the  most  striking  harmony  with  thee.xpress  declarations 
or  explanations  of  the  phenomena  of  creation  recorded  in  God's 
word.  According  to  these  we  learn,  that,  to  limit  the  ocean  within 
its  bed,  "  the   mountains  ascend,  and  the  vallies  descend,  into  the 

*  "  Revue  Francaise,"  May  1830,  p.  55.  See  also  his  MS  commu- 
niciitions  to  De  la  Beche,  in  his  Manual,  pp.  481  seqq.  Carlo  Gemmel- 
laro  informs  us,  that  at  the  scientific  meeting  of  Stuttgard,  in  1834,  he 
read  a  paper  proposing  a  modification  of  the  Theory,  and  restricting  the 
elevation  of  mountain  chains  to  small  spaces.  "  Relazione  sul  di  lui 
viaggio  a  Stuttgaril."   Catania,  1835,  p.  12. 

f  Geolog.  Trans,  vol.  iii.  p.  34.  t  Researches,  p.  39. 


188  rXCTURE    THE    FIFTH. 

place  which  God  has  founded  for  them.  He  has  placed  (them)  as  a 
barrier  which  they  (the  waters)  shall  not  pass,  nor  return  to  cover  the 
earth."*  Again,  the  formation  of  mountains  is  spoken  of  as  distinct 
from  that  of  the  earth.  "  Before  the  mountains  were  brought  forth, 
or  the  earth  was  born."t  Another  remarkable  passage  seems 
graphically  to  describe  the  effects  of  this  consuming  principle  :  "  Fire 
shall  be  kindled  in  my  wrath,  and  it  shall  burn  into  the  lowest  abyss 
(grave  or  hell ;)  it  shall  eat  the  earth  and  its  produce,  and  shall  burn 
up  the  foundations  of  the  mountains."^  In  which  description,  as  in 
most  that  extol  either  the  glory  or  power,  the  munificence  or  the  se- 
verity, of  the  Supreme  Being,  the  figures  are  most  probably  drawn 
from  his  actual  works ;  as  Bishop  Lowth  has  abundantly  demonstra- 
ted. 

But  the  discoveries  of  modern  geologists  have,  as  I  have  before 
suggested,  also  established  a  progressive  series  in  the  production  of 
different  races  of  animals,  in  evident  accordance  with  the  plan  mani- 
fested to  us  in  the  six  days'  creation.  Indeed,  this  approximation 
between  the  two  has  appeared  to  some  so  striking,  as  to  lead  them 
to  abandon  the  method  I  have  explained,  for  reconciling  the  inspired 
record  and  modern  science,  and  induce  them  to  maintain  that  the 
two  are  in  far  more  perfect  accordance  than  I  have  hitherto  asserted. 
If  you  will  not  agree  with  them  in  their  hypothesis,  you  will  at  least 
have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  that"  foreign  geology"  has  no  desire  to 
destroy  or  controvert  the  Mosaic  narrative. 

Dr.  Buckland  truly  observes,  that  learned  men,  upon  grounds 
quite  distinct  from  geology,  have  maintained  the  days  of  creation  to 
signify  long  indefinite  periods. §  With  the  plausibility  of  this  suppo- 
sition I  have  nothing  to  do  ;  philologically  or  critically  I  perceive  no 
objection  to  it ;  but  I  do  not  deem  it  absolutely  required.  Still,  ad- 
mitting the  hypothesis  before  given,  that  all  which  modern  science 
demands  is  granted  in  the  intermediate  space  between  creation  and 
the  present  arrangement  of  the  earth,  some  longer  period  may  be  re- 
quired than  a  day,  if  we  suppose  the  laws  of  nature  to  have  been  left 
to  their  ordinary  course  ;  for  then,  some  longer  interval  would  have 
been  requisite  for  the  plants  produced  to  be  decked  out  as  we  must 
suppose  them,  with  flower  and  fruit,  and  grown  to  their  complete 
perfection,  when  man  was  placed  among  them.     But  it  might  please 


*  Ps.  civ.  8,  9.  t  Ps.  xc.  2.  I  Dent.  xxxi.  22. 

§  "VindicisB  Geologicoe,"  Ox/or  J,  ISm  p.  3?. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  189 

God  to  bring  them  forth  at  once,  in  all  their  grandeur  and  beauty, 
from  the  first  instant  of  their  production. 

Cuvier  first  remarked,  that  in  the  fossil  animals  of  the  primeval 
world,  there  was  a  gradual  development  of  organization  ;  inasmuch 
as  the  lowest  strata  contained  the  most  imperfect  animals,  molluscs, 
and  shell-fish  ;  after  which  come  crocodiles,  saurians,  and  fish  ;  last 
of  all,  quadrupeds,  beginning  with  the  extinct  species  whereof  I  have 
spoken.*  Mr.  Lyell,  perhaps  justly,  denies  the  correctness  of  the 
consequence  often  drawn  from  this  result,  that  "  there  is  a  progres- 
sive development  of  organic  life,  from  the  simplest  to  the  most  compli- 
cated forms. "t  inasmuch  as  the  discovery  of  one  fish,  or  the  bones 
of  a  saurian  among  the  shells,  is  sufficient  to  derange  the  scale.  But 
this  observation  noways  clashes  with  the  view  which  I  am  going  to 
state  :  since  every  subsequent  examination  has,  as  far  as  I  know, 
tended  to  confirm  this  succession  of  animals.  For  instance,  in  the 
very  minute  tabular  arrangement  given  by  Mr.  Mantell,  of  the  organ- 
ic remains  of  Sussex,  we  find  in  the  alluvial  deposits,  the  stag,  and 
other  such  animals  ;  and  in  the  diluvial,  the  horse,  ox,  and  elephant; 
after  these,  proceeding  downwards,  we  have  fish,  and  shells,  and  in 
some  formations,  tortoises,  and  the  different  saurians  I  have  before 
described.  The  bones  of,  what  he  at  first  supposed  to  be  a  bird, 
were  discovered  :  but.  Professor  Buckland  considers  it  most  probable, 
that  they  belonged  to  a  pterodactylus,  or  flying  lizard. J 

Assuming  these  premises,  the  authors,  to  whom  I  have  alluded, 
suppose  the  days  of  creation  to  signify  longer,  and  of  course  indefi- 
nite, periods ;  during  which  a  certain  order  of  animate  beings  ex- 
isted ;  and  they  observe  that  the  disposition  of  organic  remains  in 
strata,  corresponds  exactly  to  the  order  in  which  their  respective 
classes  are,  in  the  Scripture  record,  said  to  have  been  produced.  An 
anonymous  writer,  last  year,  published  a  comparative  table  of  this 
conformity,  following,  on  the  one  hand,  Humboldt's  valuable  work  on 
the  superposition  of  rocks,  and  the  acknowledged  succession  of  or- 
ganic fossils,  on  the  other.  In  the  lowest,  primitive,  or  as  they  are 
better  called,  unstratified  rocks,  as  well  as  in  the  lowest  order  of  the 
stratified,  we  have  no  traces  whatsoever  of  vegetable,  or  animal  life  ; 
then  we  find  plants  mingled  with  fish,  but  more  especially  with  shells 


*  Discours  Prelim."  p.  68. 

t  "Principles  of  Geology,"  vol.  i.  p.  145. 

t  "  Geolog.  Trans."  vol.  3.  pp.   200—216.     Comp.  Dr.  Buckland, 
p.  220. 


190  LECTURE    THE    FIFTH. 

and  molluscs,  as  in  the  grauwacke  group ;  thus  indicating  that  the 
sea  was  the  first  to  produce  life,  and  bring  forth  its  inhabitants ; 
while  the  greater  abundance  of  the  inferior  class,  as  shells,  molluscs, 
etc.  seem  to  indicate  their  prior  existence  to  the  more  perfect  tenants 
of  the  same  element.  Reptiles,  or  the  monstrous  creeping  things, 
before  described,  and  connected  with  the  occupiers  of  the  air,  through 
the  flying  lizard,  are  the  next  that  appear,  and  are  no  less  justly  clas- 
sed by  the  inspired  liistorian  as  marine  productions.  Now  at  length 
the'earth  produces  life,  and  accordingly  we  next  find  the  remains  of 
quadrupeds,  of  species  however,  in  a  great  measure  no  longer  exist- 
ing. They  are  found  only  in  the  latest  strata,  superior  to  those 
wherein  the  larger  marine  reptiles  lie,  such  as  the  Paris  fresh-water 
formation.  Then  at  last  come  moveable  beds,  in  which,  as  at  our 
next  meeting  will  be  more  fully  shown,  exist  the  remains  of  genera 
now  inhabiting  the  earth.  With  the  remains  of  each  class  are  found 
sufficient  marks,  of  their  having  been  swept  from  existence,  by  some 
great  catastrophe.* 

This  hypothesis  and  attempt  to  place  in  harmony  the  Jewish 
annalist  with  the  modern  philosopher,  may  appear  to  many  deficient 
in  the  precision,  requisite  to  establish  so  minute  a  parallelism.  At 
any  rate,  it  will  serve  to  vindicate  the  cultivators  of  the  science,  from 
the  reproach  of  being  unconcerned  about  the  connexion  their  results 
may  have  with  more  sacred  authorities.  And  I  will  add  moreover, 
that  many  among  those  on  the  continent,  so  far  from  slighting  the 
truth  of  that  record,  on  the  contrary,  express  a  deep  veneration  for  it, 
and  their  admiration  of  its  wisdom,  from  seeing  how  their  scientific 
pursuits,  do,  in  the  manner  I  have  rehearsed,  appear  to  confirm  it. 

"  We  cannot  too  much  remark,"  says  Demerson,  "  this  admirable 
order,  so  exactly  according  with  the  soundest  notions  which  form  the 
basis  of  positive  Geology.  What  homage  ought  we  not  to  render  to 
the  inspired  historian  !"t  "  Here,"  exclaims  Boubee,  "  we  are  met 
by  a  reflection  which  cannot  fail  to  strike  us.  Since  a  book,  written 
at  the  time  when  the  natural  sciences  were  so  little  advanced,  con- 
tains nevertheless,  in  a  few  lines,  the  summary  of  the  most  remarka- 
ble consequences,  at  which  it  could  not  be  possible  to  arrive  other- 
wise than  by  the  immense  progress  made   in   the  eighteenth   and 


*  "  Annales  de  Philosophie  Chr6tienne,"  Aug.  1834,  p.  132. 

t  "La  G^ologie  enseignde  en    22  Icons,  cue  historic  naturelle  du 
globe  terrestre,"  Paris,  1829,  p.  408,  comp.  p.  461. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES. 


191 


nineteenth  centuries ;  since  these  conclusions  are  connected  with 
facts,  which  were  neither  known  nor  even  suspected  at  that  time,  nor 
ever  had  been  till  our  days,  and  which  philosophers  have  ever  con- 
sidered contradictorily,  and  under  erroneous  points  of  view:  since  in 
fine  that  book,  so  superior  to  its  age  in  scientific  knowledge,  is  equal- 
ly superior  to  it  in  morals,  and  in  natural  philosophy,  we  are  obliged 
to  admit  that  there  is  in  that  book  something  superior  to  man,  some- 
thing which  he  sees  not,  which  he  comprehends  not,  but  which  pres- 
ses upon  him  irresistibly."* 

Both  the  works  which  I  have  cited,  are  of  a  popular  and  elemen- 
tary char:.cter,  written  designedly  to  instruct  youth,  and  persons  of 
an  inferior  education,  in  the  outlines  of  the  science.  And  on  this 
account  I  quote  them  the  more  willingly  ;  because  they  serve  to  show, 
.  how  the  tendency  of  this  study,  on  the  continent,  so  far  from  being 
towards  infidelity,  is  rather  towards  the  confirmation,  and  even 
demonstration,  of  Christianity ;  and  how  foreign  geologists,  instead 
of  directing  their  pupils  to  contemn  the  sacred  books,  as  irreconcila- 
ble with  their  new  pursuits,  do  on  the  contrary  strive  to  gain  fresh 
motives  of  respect  and  admiration  towards  them,  from  the  result  of 
their  researches.  To  the  names  already  cited  I  might  add  many 
others,  as  D'Aubuisson,  Chaubard,  Bertrand,  whose  work,  recently 
translated  into  English,  has  gone  through  six  or  seven  editions  in 
France,  and  Margerin,  the  outline  of  whose  course,  in  the  program- 
me ofthe  Universite  Catholique,t  is  eminently  christian. 

These  observations,  too,  must  be  doubly  gratifying,  when  we 
consider  the  country  whence  they  arise  ;  that  which  for  years  sup- 
plied Europe  with  crude  and  ill-digested  materials,  for  unreflecting 
minds  to  object  against  religion.  But  to  those  who  know  the  better 
spirit  which  is  now  fermenting  in  the  warm  blood  of  many  among  its 
youth,  who  are  apprised  of  the  genial  ardor  of  true  patriotism,  which 
cheers  them  on  in  the  holy  desire  to  blot  that  stain  from  their  coun- 
try's scutcheon,  and  to  raise  her  as  much  by  the  new  glory  she  shall 
shed  around  the  cause  of  religion,  as  she  has  been  shamed  by  her 
former  enmity  to  it ;  to  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  sacred 
league  tacitly  existing  among  many,  to  devote  their  various  and  su- 
perior accomplishments  and  abilities  to  the  defence,  the  illustration, 
and  the  triumph,  of  religion,  under  the  secure  guidance  of  the  Church 


•  "  G^ologie  6i6mentaire  k  la  port6e  de  tout  le  monde,"  Paris,  1833, 
p.  66. 

t  Paris,  1815,  p.  57. 


192  LECTURE    THE    FIFTH. 

which  they  obey ;  to  stich  as  know  these  things,  the  authorities  I 
have  quoted  are  but  small  manifestationsof  a  widely  extended  feelino-, 
mere  leaves  rising  to  the  surface  of  the  waters,  to  show  the  rich  and 
luxuriant  growth  of  vegetation,  which  their  depths  enclose. 

And  surely  it  must  be  gratifying  thus  to  see  a  science,  formerly 
classed,  and  not,  perhaps,  unjustly,  among  the  most  pernicious  to 
faith,  once  more  become  her  handmaid ;  to  see  her  now,  after  so 
many  years  of  wandering  from  theory  to  theory,  or  rather,  from  vision 
to  vision,  return  once  more  to  the  home  where  she  was  born,  and  to 
the  altar  at  which  she  made  her  first  simple  offerings ;  no  longer,  as 
she  first  went  forth,  a  wilful,  dreamy,  empty-handed  child,  but  with 
a  matronly  dignity,  and  a  priest-like  step,  and  a  bosom  full  of  well- 
earned  gifts,  to  pile  upon  its  sacred  hearth.  For  it  was  religion 
which,  as  we  saw  at  the  commencement  of  this  lecture,  gave  geology 
birth,  and  to  the  sanctuary  she  hath  once  more  returned.  And  how, 
our  next  entertainment  shall  yet  further  declare. 


LECTURE  THE  SIXTH 


ON 


THE    NATURAL    SCIENCES. 


PART  II. 


Second  i)oint  of  contact  between  Geology  and  Scriptme- — the  Deluge. 
— 1.  Geological  proofs  of  the  existence  of  a  Deluge — denudation  of 
valleys  ;  erratic  block  group  ;  appearance  of  the  Alps. — Huttoniau 
theory. — Elie  de  Beaumont's  application  of  his  theory  to  the  cause 
of  the  Deluge. — Animal  remains  :  entire  animals  found  in  tjje  North  : 
Bone-caverns  and  osseous  breccias.  Objections. — 2.  Unity  of  the 
Deluge,  proved  by  uniformity  of  effects. — 3.  Date  of  the  Deluge. 
General  impression  produced  from  observation  of  facts. — Deluc's 
system  of  chronometers. — Deltas  of  rivers;  progress  of  dmies.  Judg- 
ment of  Saussure,  Dolomieu,  and  Cuvier. — Concluding  remarks  on 
the  natural  sciences. 

If  we  travel  along  some  smooth  and  pleasant  road,  those  objects 
which  immediately  surround  us,  shall  seem  to  us  adverse  to  our 
course,  and  moving  in  the  opposite  direction.  And  these  are  mostly 
works  of  the  hands  of  men,  the  hedge-rows  perhaps  which  he  hath 
planted,  or  the  cottages  and  houses  which  he  hath  built.  But  if  we 
cast  our  eyes  beyond  these,  and  gaze  upon  the  handiwork  of  nature, 
upon  the  huge  mountains  which  engird  the  horizon,  or  the  majestic 
clouds  which  swim  in  the  ocean  of  heaven,  we  shall  see  that  they 
travel  with  us  on  our  way,  and  that  their  course  is  onward,  even  as 
our  own.  And  thus,  methinks,  it  is  with  us  in  our  pilgrimage 
towards  truth.  Men  have  hedged  us  round  with  the  plantings  of 
their  own  hands,  or  the  devices  of  their  own  hearts  ;  and  if  we  look 
at  these  as  we  advance,  we  shall  seem  to  be,  as  it  were,  in  opposition 
and  contradiction  to  the  realities  of  things.  But  raise  we  our  sight 
above  and  beyond  these  new  and  mortal  creations,  and  when  we 
25 


194  LF.CTURE    THE     SIXTH. 

shall  contemplate  and  interrogate  nature  herself,  in  her  primeval  and 
enduring  works,  we  shall  find  her,  through  them  travelling  on  the 
same  road  with  us,  and  pointing  towards  the  object  of  our  desires. 

Assuredly  the  science  of  geology  hath  already  given  you  some 
proof,  that  so  long  as  men  piled  up  systems,  they  hindered  those  who 
would  have  gladly  advanced  towards  the  discovery  of  sacred  truths  ; 
but  that  when  the  appearances  of  nature  were  fiiirly  consulted,  and 
simply  delivered,  tliey  manifestly  led  to  the  wished-for  conclusions. 
But  descending  now  to  the  second  point  to  which  I  before  alluded, 
as  supposing  a  contact  between  sacred  and  profane  researches,  that 
is  the  Deluge,  I  think  you  will  find  the  usefulness  of  this  science 
much  more  plainly  manifested.  It  is  evident,  that,  if  any  traces  of 
former  events  can  be  met  upon  the  earth,  it  needs  must  be,  that  the 
last  catastrophe  which  passed  over  its  surface,  has  left  the  clearest 
footmarks  of  its  course.  The  short  duration  of  the  deluge,  and  the 
convulsive  nature  of  its  destructive  action,  would  allow  no  leisure  for 
the  slow  operation  of  successive  deposits,  but  must  have  left  traces 
rather  of  a  disturbing  than  of  a  shaping  power,  of  removal,  disloca- 
tion, and  transport,  of  a  scooping  and  furrowing  tendency,  rather 
than  a  formative  and  assimilating  agency.  We  should  expect  to 
trace  its  course  now,  as  we  follow  in  summer  that  of  a  winter  torrent, 
rather  than,  as  we  discover  the  bed  of  a  dried  up  lake  ;  by  the  frag- 
ments it  tore  from  its  banks,  by  the  wearing  action  it  exercised  on 
the  mountain's  flank,  by  the  accumulation  of  loose  materials,  vvhere 
its  eddies  were  the  strongest,  perhaps  by  the  fragments  of  more  valu- 
able spoil,  by  the  remains  of  tho.se  plants  and  animals,  which,  as  it 
burst  over  its  ordinary  limits,  it  swept  from  their  natural  haunts  into 
its  gulf  The  universality  of  its  action  would  produce  such  a  uni- 
formity in  its  effects,  as  would  identify  them  through  tracts  placed  at 
a  considerable  distance  from  one  another;  so  that  the  ocean  torrent, 
issuing  from  the  opened  flood-gates  of  the  abyss,  would  mark  its  rav- 
ages in  a  similar  direction  in  the  American  and  in  the  European 
continent.  It  must  be,  doubtless,  difficult  to  fix  the  era  of  such  a 
scourge  over  tracts,  which  many  centuries  of  vegetation  have  covered 
with  their  yearly  tribute  of  decay  ;  which  the  hand  of  man  has  indus- 
triously broken  up,  or  otherwise  altered ;  which  the  wearing  and  de- 
facing corrosion  of  time  has  smoothened  and  disguised  ;  and  which 
a  series  of  minor  and  local  catastrophes  have,  from  time  to  time,  ma- 
terially deranged.  Yet,  in  spite  of  all  these  altering  causes,  there 
may  be  time-marks,  either  in  the  state  of  the  ruins  which  the  last  devas- 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  195 

tation  left,  or  in  the  effects  of  progressive  agencies,  which  can  only 
date  from  it,  sufficient  to  guide  us  to,  at  least,  a  vague  and  approxi- 
mating calculation  of  the  epoch  at  which  it  occurred. 

In  examining  the  light  which  modern  geology  has  cast  upon 
these  three  points, — the  existence,  the  unity,  and  the  date  of  a  deluge, 
or  devastation  of  the  world  by  water,  I  shall  chieHy  follow  as  my 
text,  the  summary  given  in  a  kw  lines  by  Dr.  Buckland,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  his  Viml/ria;  Geologiccc,  and  afterwards  repeated  in  his 
Reliquice  Diliiviana*  Indeed,  it  will  be  this  work  which  I  shall 
have  principally  in  my  eye,  in  the  compendious  view  I  shall  endeav- 
or to  present  you,  of  what  modern  geology  has  decided,  regarding 
the  physical  evidences  of  this  catastrophe. 

The  first  phenomenon  which,  we  may  say,  was  justly  observed 
and  proposed,  as  giving  proof  of  a  sudden  and  complete  inunda- 
tion, such  as  the  deluge  supposes,  is  that  which  is  known  in  mod- 
ern works,  by  the  name  of  valleys* of  denudation.  Catcott,  in  his 
work  on  the  deluge,  was  the  first  to  notice  it ;  but  it  has  received 
much  more  accurate  attention  since  his  time.  By  this  term  are  un- 
derstood— valleys  inclosed  between  hills,  the  strata  of  which  corres 
pond  exactly,  so  that  the  valley  has  evidently  been  scooped  out  from 
their  substance.  To  explain  this  by  a  familiar  illustration  ;  if  you 
discovered,  among  the  ruins  of  this  city,  fragments  of  wall,  recurring 
at  intervals,  and  standing  in  the  same  line,  and  if,  upon  minuter  ex- 
amination, you  ascertained  that  the  different  portions  were  built  of 
the  same  materials,  in  precisely  the  same  order,  so  that,  for  instance, 
rows  of  brick,  travertine  and  tufo,  succeeded  one  another  at  equal  in- 
tervals throughout,  and  with  corresponding  dimensions,  assuredly 
you  would  conclude  that  the  different  fragments  had  originally 
formed  one  continuous  wall,  and  that  the  breaches  interposed  were 
the  result  of  time  or  violence.  Precisely  the  same  lino  of  reasoning 
must  lead  us  to  conclude,  that  the  valleys,  which  have  manifestly  cut 
the  hills  in  two,  have  been  excavated  in  them,  by  some  agency  equal 
to  the  effects.  Dr.  Cuckland  has  been  particularly  successful  in  the 
examination  of  this  appearance,  on  the  coast  of  Devon  and  Dorset,  of 
which  he  has  given  illustrative  plates.  From  these,  as  well  as  from 
his  description,  it  appears  that  the  entire  coast  is  cut  by  valieys  run- 
ning towards  the  sea,  dividing  the  strata  of  the  hills,  so  that  they  tally 
one  with  another.     On  the  sides  of  these  valleys  there  are  accumula- 

*  "  Vindicise,"  p.  30.     "  Reliquiae,"  Lond.  1823,  p.  226. 


196  LECTURE    THE    SIXTH. 

tions  of  gravel,  manifestly  deposited  on  the  slopes  of  the  hills,  and  at 
the  bottom  of  the  gorge,  by  the  excavating  cause.  This  cannot  have 
been  any  agent  now  in  operation,  for  no  river  runs  through  many  of 
them  ;  and  in  the  gravel  thus  deposited  are  found  the  remains  of  ani- 
mals, such  as  would  be  destroyed  by  a  sudden  flood,  in  the  present 
order  of  creation.*  Similar  examples  might  be  brought  from  the  es- 
says of  other  geologists. 

To  this  class  of  proofs  I  may  refer  another  singular  appearance, 
which  seems  attributable  to  the  washing  away,  by  water,  of  the  sides 
of  mountains.  I  allude  to  those  huge  pinnacles  of  granite,  or  other 
hard  rock,  which  seem  to  stand  detached  and  insulated  from  the 
neighboring  mountains.  Mount  Cervin,  in  the  Vivarais,  presents  a 
pyramid  3,000  feet  high  upon  the  loftiest  Alps,  and  is  thus  comment- 
ed upon  by  Saussure  : — "  However  keen  a  partizan  I  am  of  crystali- 
zation,  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  believe  that  such  an  obelisk,  is- 
sued directly,  from  nature's  hand,  in  this  shape.  The  surrounding 
matter  has  been  broken  oif  and  swept  away ;  for  nothing  is  seen 
around  it  but  other  pinnacles,  springing,  like  it,  abruptly  out  of  the 
the  ground,  with  their  sides,  in  like  manner,  abraded  by  violence." 
At  Greiffenstein,  in  Saxony,  are  a  number  of  granitic  prisms,  stand- 
ing upon  a  plain,  and  rising  to  the  height  of  a  hundred  feet,  and  up- 
wards. Each  of  these  is  again  divided,  by  horizontal  fissures,  into 
so  many  blocks  ;  and  thus  they  present  the  idea  of  a  great  mass  of 
granite,  the  connecting  parts  of  which  have  been  violently  torn 
away.t 

Another  class  of  phenomena  which  gives  the  same  results,  may 
be  justly  comprehended  in  the  term  proposed  by  De  la  Beche,  the 
erratic  block  group  |  Dr.  Buckland  had  before  proposed  the  distinc- 
tion between  alluvial  and  diluvial  lormations  ;  understanding  by  the 
former,  those  deposits  which  tides,  or  rivers,  or  other  existing  causes, 
make  in  their  ordinary  action,  and  by  the  latter,  those  which  seem 
due  to  the  agency  of  a  more  powerful  cause,  than  any  now  at  work, 
— such  as  a  vast  and  overwhelming  inundation.  The  constituents  of 
this  class  may  be  reduced  to  two ;  first  deposits  of  sand  or  gravel, 
where  no  water  now  acts,  or  could  well  have  acted,  in  the  present 


*  "ReliquitB,"  p.  247.—"  Geoioir.  Trans."  vol.  i.  p.  96. 
t  Saussure,    "Voyage  dans  les  Alpes,"  to.  iv.  p.  414.     lire,  "New 
System  of  Geology,"  Lojir/.  1829,  p.  J570. 
I  Poge  18 J. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  197 

order  of  things ;  and  secondly  those  larger  masses,  varying  from 
some  inches  in  diameter,  to  the  weight  of  many  tons,  technically  de- 
nominated, bowlder  stones.  These,  when  small,  are  generally  inter- 
mixed with  gravel  ;  but  often  they  surprise  us  with  their  huge  masses 
standing  insulated  and  alone,  on  the  side  of  a  mountain,  so  as  to  ver- 
ify the  beautiful  description  of  the  poet, — 

"As  a  huge  stone  is  sometimes  seen  to  lie 
Couched  on  the  bald  top  of  an  eminence, 
Wonder  to  all  wlio  do  the  same  espy, 
Bj'  what  means  it  could  hither  come,  or  whence  ; 
So  that  it  seems  a  thing  endued  with  sense, 
Like  a  sea-beast  crawled  forth,  that  on  a  shelf 
Of  rock  or  sand  reposetb,  there  to  sun  itself." — 

Wordsworth. 

De  la  Beche  has  paid  particular  attention  to  the  circumstances  in 
which  deposits  of  gravel  occur,  and  shows  them  to  be  incompatible 
with  the  theory, — that  actual  causes  have  produced  them.  Thus, 
we  often  find  that  the  strata  have  been  btoken  into  what  is  called  a 
"fault,"  over  which  the  transported  gravel  lies  quiet  and  undisturbed, 
thus  showing,  that  a  different  action  deposited  it  there,  from  that 
which  caused  the  fracture  of  the  strata.  In  like  manner,  wherever 
it  has  been  possible  to  examine  the  ground  under  these  deposits,  we 
find  the  rocks,  however  hard,  scored  in  furrows,  as  if  a  vast  current, 
bearing  heavy  masses  along,  had  passed  over  its  surface.  Upon  these 
facts  he  reasons  thus  : — "  Our  limits  will  not  permit  greater  details, 
which  would  require  the  necessary  maps  ;  but  it  would  go  far  to  sup- 
port the  supposition,  that  masses  of  water  had  passed  over  the  land. 
Confining  our  attention  to  one  district,  it  should  be  observed,  that  the 
dislocations  are  far  greater,  and  the  faults,  evidently  produced  at  a 
single  fracture,  far  more  considerable,  than  we  can  conceive  possible 
from  modern  earthquakes.  It  is  not,  therefore,  unphilosophical  to  in- 
fer, that  a  greater  force,  causing  vibrations  and  fractures  of  the  rocks, 
w'ould  throw  a  greater  body  of  water  into  more  violent  movement,  and 
that  the  wave  or  waves,  bursting  upon  the  land,  or  acting  upon  the 
bottom,  at  comparatively  small  depths,  would  have  an  elevation  and 
destructive  sweeping  .power,  proportioned  to  the  disturbing  force 
employed. 

"  The  next  question  that  will  arise  is,  are  there  any  other  marks 
of  masses  of  water  passing  over  the  land  ?     To  this  it  may  be  rC' 


198  LFXTURH    THE     SIXTH. 

plied,  that  tlie  forms  of  the  valleys  are  gentle  and  rounded,  and  such 
as  no  complication  of  meteoric  causes,  that  ingenuity  can  imagine, 
seems  capable  of  producing  :  that  numerous  valleys  occur  on  the 
lines  of  faults,  and  that  the  detritus  is  dispersed  in  a  way  that  cannot 
be  accounted  for,  by  the  present  action  of  mere  atmospheric  waters."* 

Dr.  Buckland  has  minutely  traced  the  course  of  quartzose  pebbles, 
from  Warwickshire,  to  Oxfordshire  and  London,  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  leave  no  doubt,  that  they  have  been  carried  down  by  a  violent 
rush  of  waters  from  north  to  south.  For,  when  we  first  meet  them, 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Birmingham  and  Lichfield,  they  form  enor- 
mous beds,  subordinate  to  the  red  sandstone.  Thence  they  have 
been  swept  downwards,  chiefly  along  the  valleys  of  the  Evenlode  and 
Thames,  mixed  with  fragments  of  rock  existing  in  Yorkshire  and 
Lincolnshire,  but  nowhere  iti  situ  near  the  places  where  the  pebbles 
are  now  found.  The  quantity  decreases  in  proportion  as  we  recede 
from  their  original  bed  ;  so  that  in  Hyde  Park,  and  the  Kensington 
gravel-pits,  they  are  less  abundant  than  at  Oxford.  But  these  trans- 
ported pebbles,  being  found  on  the  heights  which  line  these  valleys, 
it  would  appear  a  natural  conclusion,  that  the  same  cause  which 
brought  them  hither,  also  excavated  the  valleys:  though  according  to 
the  learned  professor's  supposition,  rather  in  its  retreat  than  in  its 
first  advance.  The  sufficiency  of  this  one  action  to  produce  all  the 
ellects,  affords  surely  a  strong  ground  for  adopting  his  hypothesis.! 

De  la  Beche  found  on  the  top  of  Great  Haldon  liill,  about  800 
feet  above  the  sea,  pieces  of  rock,  which  must  have  been  derived 
from  lower  levels.  "I  there  found,"  he  adds,  "  pieces  of  red  quart- 
ziferous  porphyry,  compact  red  sand-stone,  and  a  compact  siliceous 
rock,  not  uncommon  in  the  grauwacke  of  the  vicinity,  where  all 
these  rocks  occur  at  lower  levels  than  the  summit  of  Haldon,  and 
where  certainly  they  could  not  have  been  carried  by  rains  or  rivers, 
unless  the  latter  be  supposed  to  delight  in  running  up  hill."  Dr. 
Buckland  collected,  in  the  county  of  Durham,  within  a  kw  miles  of 
Darlington,  pebbles  of  more  than  twenty  varieties  of  green-stone  rock 
and  slate,  which  occur  nowhere  nearer  than  the  lake  district  of 
Cumberland  ;  and  one  block  of  granite  in  that  town,  cannot  have 
come  from   any  nearer  place  than  Shap,  near  Penrith.      Similar 

*  P.igc  134.  In  tl)(!  first  edition,  tho  learned  autlior  is  more  explicit, 
as  lie  uses  tlie  word,  "deluge,"  where  now  he  has,  "masses  of  water," 
in  the  beginning  of  the  second  paragraph. 

t  "  Reliquiae,  p.  249. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  199 

blocks  are  found  also  on  the  elevated  plain  of  Sedgfield,  on  the  south- 
east of  Durham.  The  nearest  point  from  which  these  blocks  and 
pebbles  could  have  been  derived,  is  the  lake-district  of  Cumberland, 
from  which  they  are  separated  by  the  heights  of  Stainmoor  ;  and  if  it 
be  thought  too  great  a  difficulty  to  suppose  them  brought  thence,  the 
only  choice  is  to  give  them  a  Norwegian  origin,  and  suppose  them 
transported  from  beyond  the  present  sea.  Mr.  Conybeare  has  re- 
marked, that  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  collect  almost  a  complete 
geological  series  of  English  rocks,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Market 
Harborough,  or  in  the  valley  of  Shipston-on-Stour,  from  the  rolled 
fragments  and  bowlders  which  there  occur.  Professor  Sedgwick  has 
observed  that  the  bowlders  accompanying  the  detritus,  or  gravel,  in 
Cumberland,  must  come  from  Dumfriesshire,  and  consequently  have 
crossed  Solvvay  Frith.  Still  more  striking  is  the  discovery  of  Mr. 
Phillips,  that  the  diluvium  of  Holderness,  contains  fragments  of  rocks, 
not  only  from  Durham,  Cumberland,  and  the  north  of  Yorkshire,  but 
even  from  Norway  :  and  similar  fragments  of  Norwegian  rocks  are 
said  to  exist  in  the  Shetland  islands.  The  same  vvriter  gives  a  singu- 
lar phenomenon  of  this  sort.  In  the  valley  of  the  Wharf,  the  substra- 
tum of  slate  is  covered  with  a  stratum  of  limestone,  on  the  top  of 
which,  50  or  100  feet  above,  we  find  huge  transported  blocks  of 
slate  in  great  abundance  ;  further  on  the  scars,  to  an  elevation  of  150 
feet,  the  blocks  are  still  more  numerous.  They  appear  to  have  been 
driven  up,  at  a  particular  place,  by  a  current,  towards  the  north,  and 
afterwards  carried  along  the  surface  of  limestone."*  So  that  here 
we  have  a  manifest  deposition  of  limestone  upon  the  slate,  and  then, 
a  violent  transportation  of  blocks  of  this  rock,  over  the  surface  of  the 
deposit. 

On  the  Continent  precisely  the  same  appearances  are  ob.'jcrved. 
In  Sweden  and  in  Russia  large  blocks  occur,  with  every  evidence  of 
their  having  been  borne  from  north  to  south  ;  Count  Rasouinousky 
observes,  that  those  between  St.  Petersburgh  and  Moscow, come  from 
Scandinavia,  and  are  disposed  in  lines  from  N.  E.  to  S.  W.  The 
erratic  blocks  from  the  Duna  to  Niemen,  are  attributed  by  Professor 
Pusch  to  Finland,  lake  Onega,  and  Esthonia;  those  of  eastern 
Prussia  and  part  of  Poland  belong  to  three  varieties,  all  found  in  the 
vicinity  of  Abo,  in  Finland. t     In  America,  appearances  are  precisely 

*  "  Geo!.  Trans."  vol.  iii.  p.  13. 

f  De  la  Beche,  uhi  sup.  Bucklaiid,  "  Reliquiae,"  p.  192  seqq. 


200  LECTURE    THE    SIXTH. 

the  same.  Dr.  Bigsby,  describing  the  geological  appearances  of  lake 
Huron,  observes:  "The  shores  and  bed  of  lake  Huron,  appear  to 
have  been  subjected  to  the  action  of  a  violent  rush  of  waters,  and 
floating  substances  rushing  from  the  north.  That  such  a  flood  did 
happen  is  proved,  not  only  by  the  abraded  state  of  the  surface  of  the 
northern  mainland,  and  scattered  isles  of  the  Manitouline  range,  but 
by  the  immense  deposits  of  sand,  and  rolled  masses  of  rock,  which 
are  found  in  heaps  at  every  level,  both  upon  the  continent  and  islands ; 
since  these  fragments  are  almost  exclusively  primitive,  and  can  in 
some  instances  be  identified  with  the  primitive  rocks  in  situ  upon  the 
northern  shore  ;  and  since,  moreover,  the  country  to  the  south  and 
west  is  secondary  to  a  great  distance,  the  direction  of  this  flood  from 
the  north  seems  to  be  well  attested."* 

It  is  just,  however,  to  notice  the  hypothesis  maintained  with  so 
nmch  acuteness  and  learning  by  some  very  able  modern  geologists, 
that  all  these  phenomena  can  be  explained  by  causes  actually  in 
operation.  Fuchsel  was  the  first  who  made  this  assertion,  which 
may  be  said  to  have  afterwards  formed  the  basis  of  the  Huttonian 
theory.  This,  like  many  other  philosophical  sects,  owes  it  celebrity 
more  to  its  disciples  than  to  its  founder  ;  and  Playfair  and  Lyell  have 
certainly  done  all,  for  its  support,  which  a  vast  accumulation  of  inter- 
esting facts,  and  a  most  ingenious  train  of  reasoning  can  effect.  The 
latter,  in  particular,  must  be  acknowledged  to  have  added  immensely 
to  the  collection  of  geological  observations.  According  to  this  theory, 
all  valleys  have  been  excavated  by  the  rivers  or  rills  which  run 
through  them  ;  whatever  requires  a  convulsive  agent,  is  attributed  to 
earthquakes,  of  the  character  and  extent  now  witnessed ;  all  trans- 
pbrts  of  rocks  or  gravel  may  have  been  effected  by  tides,  or  rivers,  or 
torrents,  or  floating  icebergs.  Opposed  to  this  theory  are,  of  course, 
the  authors  I  have  quoted,  and  most  others  of  eminence  in  Geology. 
Brongniart,  for  instance,  confutes  that  portion  of  it,  which  attributes  so 
strong  a  cutting  power  to  water,  as  to  suppose  deep  glens  and  ravines 
to  have  been  eaten  through  rock,  by  the  action  of  a  stream.  The 
rich  vegetation  of  mosses  upon  the  surface  of  the  rocks,  at  and  below 
the  water's  edge,  proves  that  the  rock  on  which  they  grow  is  not 
constantly  worn  away ;  for,  if  so,  they  must  be  as  constantly  swept 
away  with  their  hard  bed.  The  Nile  and  Orinocco,  in  spite  of  the 
immense  force  which  their  volume  gives  them,  when  they  come  to  a 


"  Geolog.  Traiie."  vol.  i.  p.  205. 


NATURAL,    SCIENCES.  201 

barrier  of  rock  which  intercepts  their  course,  so  far  from  wearing  it 
out,  only  cover  it  with  a  rich  brown  varnish  of  a  peculiar  nature.* 
Greenougii  has  observed,  that  the  action  of  riveis  tends  rather  to  fill 
up,  than  to  excavate  valleys,  inasmuch,  as  they  rather  raise  their 
beds,  than  dig  deeper  channels.  For  it  is  proved  by  observation,  in 
digging  pits  by  their  sides,  that  the  sedimentary  deposit  goes  deeper 
than  their  beds.  "  The  action  of  rivers,"  he  continues,  "  may  con- 
sist either  in  filling  up  or  in  scooping  out ;  it  cannot  consist  in  both : 
if  in  scooping  out,  they  have  not  formed  those  beds  of  gravel;  if  in 
filling  up,  they  have  not  excavated  the  valley. "t  The  transport  of 
gravels  and  bowlders  to  such  immense  distances,  and  such  great 
heights,  can  no  more  be  accounted  for  by  existing  causes.  For,  it 
has  been  observed,  that  even  rivers,  unless  exceedingly  strong,  do 
not  carry  their  pebbles  to  any  distance ;  as  different  parts  of  their 
course  will  be  found  paved  with  pebbles  of  various  sorts.  It  has 
been  thus  calculated,  that  for  any  Alpine  torrent  to  carry  some  of  the 
blocks,  scattered  at  the  foot  of  that  chain,  we  must  give  it  such  an 
inclination,  as  would  place  its  source  above  the  line  of  the  perpetual 
snows.  The  bowlder  rock,  called  Pierre-a-Martin,  contains  10,296 
cubic  feet  of  granite  ;  another,  at  Neufchatel,  weighs  38,000  cwt. 
At  Lage  is  a  block  of  granite,  called  the  Johannis-stein,  twenty-four 
feet  in  diameter.  An  enormous  bowlder  stone,  on  the  shore  of  Appin, 
in  Argyleshire,  has  been  described  by  Mr.  Maxwell,  as  being  a 
granitic  compound,  of  an  irregular  form,  but  having  its  angles  round- 
ed with  a  vertical  circumference  of  forty-two  feet,  and  a  horizontal 
one  of  thirty-eight.  Numerous  other  granite  bowlders  occur  in  the 
same  part  of  Scotland,  but  no  granite  is  there  in  situ,  from  which  it 
can  be  derived. | 

Before  quitting  this  subject  of  rolled  blocks,  I  must  not  omit  the 
peculiar  appearance  they  present  at  the  Alps.  This  has  been  par- 
ticularly examined  by  Elie  de  Beaumont,  and  later,  by  De  la  Beche. 
It  is  precisely  what  we  should  suppose  would  have  been  produced  by 
the  rush  of  a  current  of  water  through  the  valleys,  bearing  with  it  frag- 
ments of  the  mountains  by  which  it  passed,  and  filling  up  entire  hol- 
lows, with  the  ruins  it  bore  down.     Where  an   escarpment,  or  pro- 

*  "  Diction naire  des  Sciences  Naturelles,"  vol.  xiv.  p.  55. 
f  "Critical  Examination  of  the  First  Principles  of  Geology,"  Lond. 
1819,  p.  139. 

I  "  Geolog.  Trans."  vol.  iii.  p.  488. 


202  LKCTURE    THE    SIXTH. 

jecting  ledge,  obstructed  it,  it  deposited  a  greater  accumulation  of 
materials  ;  nearer  the  place  whence  the  blocks  were  torn,  they  are 
larger,  whereas  they  diminish  in  size,  and  become  more  worn  by 
friction,  as  they  recede. 

The  geologist  whom  I  have  so  closely  followed,  puts  the  question, 
How  far  the  distribution  of  blocks  from  the  Alps  may  have  been  con- 
temporaneous with  the  supposed  transport  of  erratic  fragments  from 
Scandinavia  ?  To  this,  after  a  preliminary  caution,  he  replies,  "  that 
the  blocks  in  botii  cases  appear  to  a  certain  extent  superficial,  and 
uncovered  bv  deposits  which  would  afford  us  information  respecting 
their  diftererico  of  age ;  and  that  it  is  possible  a  great  elevation  of 
the  Alps,  and  distril)ution  of  blocks  on  both  sides  of  the  chain,  may 
have  been  contemporaneous,  or  nearly  so,  with  a  convulsion  in  the 
North."*  In  another  work,  he  enters  somewhat  more  fully  into  the 
distinction  between  these  two  great  distributions  of  blocks,  the  Alpine 
and  the  Northern,  both  of  which  he  considers  attributable  to  a  com- 
paratively recent  period.  "  How  far,"  he  writes,  "  the  events  which 
have  produced  both  accumulations  of  these  blocks,  may  have  been 
separated  by  time  from  each  other,  we  know  not ;  but  we  are  certain 
that  the  geological  epochs  of  both  must  have  been  very  recent,  since 
they  both  rest  on  rocks  of  little  comparative  antiquity."  Afterwards, 
he  infers,  from  the  phenomena  observed  in  Europe  and  America,  that 
some  cause  situated  in  the  pohr  regions,  has  so  acted,  as  to  produce 
this  dispersion  of  solid  matter,  over  a  certain  portion  of  the  earth's 
surface.  We  know  of  no  agent  capable  of  causing  the  effect  re- 
quired, but  moving  water. t  This  author  considers,  that  the  same 
simple  cause  proposed  by  M.  de  Beaumont,  to  account  for  all  the 
preceding  revolutions  on  the  earth's  surface,  will  likewise  e.xplain 
this  latest  one.  An  elevation  of  the  land  under  the  polar  seas,  would 
drive  the  ocean  southward  over  the  continents,  with  a  force  propor- 
tioned to  the  intensity  of  its  action. 

Here,  once  more,  I  must  observe,  that  we  have  another  proof, 
that,  far  from  the  tendency  of  many  continental  geologists  being  to 
incredulity,  they,  on  the  contrary,  display  an  anxiety,  so  to  frame 
their  hypothesis,  as  that  the  Scripture  narrative  shall  be  embraced  by 
it,  and  that  their  solution  of  the  great  geological  problem  shall  in  part 
be  verified,  by  its  including  so  great  a  historical  fact,  as  is  there  re- 

*  "De  l.i  Beche,"p.  194. 

f  "  Krsciirciies  in  Theonniral  Geology,"  p.  31?0. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  203 

corded.  For  Elie  de  Beaumont  observes,  at  the  conclusion  of  his 
Researches,  that  the  elevation  of  a  chain  of  mountains,  while  it  pro- 
duced the  violent  effects,  he  had  described,  on  the  countries  in  its 
immediate  neighborhood,  would  cause  in  more  distant  ones,  a  violent 
agitation  of  the  sea,  and  a  derangement  of  their  level ;  "events  com- 
parable to  the  sudden  and  passing  inundation,  of  which  we  find  an 
indication,  with  almost  uniform  data,  in  the  archives  of  all  nations." 
He  then  adds,  in  a  note,  that,  looking  at  this  historical  event  merely 
as  being  the  last  revolution  on  the  surface  of  the  globe,  he  should  be 
inclined  to  suppose  that  the  Andes  were  elevated  at  that  period  ;  and 
from  their  elevation,  all  the  effects  concurrently  necessary  to  produce 
a  deluge,  might  be  explained.* 

I  come  now  to  another  great,  and  far  more  interesting  topic,  but 
one  on  which  I  enter  with  considerable  hesitation,  in  consequence  of 
the  various  hypotheses,  and  conflicting  opinions,  connected  with  it — 
the  remains  of  animals,  discovered  in  different  parts  of  the  world, 
under  circumstances  extremely  varied.  I  before  observed,  that,  in 
the  superior,  or  more  moveable,  strata,  such  as  we  may  suppose  to 
have  been  deposited  during  a  temporary  submersion  of  the  earth 
under  a  violent  and  impetuous  rush  of  waters,  are  found  the  bones  or 
bodies  of  animals,  belonging,  in  most  cases,  to  genera  now  existing, 
though  in  species  sometimes  differing  from  them.  Judging  by  analo- 
gy, we  should  conclude  that  these  were  deposited  in  their  present 
situations  by  the  last  convulsion  which  agitated  the  globe,  since  there 
is  no  trace  of  any  other  having  passed  over  them  ;  and  it  seems 
hardly  possible  to  doubt,  that  water  was  the  agent  employed,  for  pre- 
serving them  in  so  remarkable  a  manner. 

Dr.  Buckland  may  be  considered  as  having  exhausted  this  subject, 
up  to  the  period  of  his  publication  on  diluvian  remains  ;  and  the  dis- 
covery, since  his  work,  of  later  entombments,  may  seem,  with  a  few 
exceptions  of  some  moment,  which  I  will  presently  notice,  to  have 
only  presented  repetitions  of  the  phenomena  he  had  observed,  and 
confirmed  many  of  his  conclusions. 

The  remains  of  animals,  superficially  discovered,  may  be  classified 
in  three  divisions;  first,  those  which  are  found  entire,  or  nearly  so, 
in  the  northern  regions,  to  which  must  be  joined,  such  as,  from 
similarity  of  situation,  are  to  be  accounted  for  by  a  similar  hypothesis  ; 
secondly,  those  found  in  caverns  ;  thirdly,  those  which  exist  in  what 


*  Uhi.  sup.  and  "  Anrialcs  des  Sciences  Natureiles,"  torn.  xix.p.Q32. 


204  LECTURE   THE   SIXTH. 

is  called  osseous  breccia,  or  mixed   with   gravel   or  detritus,  in  the 
fissures  of  rocks. 

In  the  first  class,  then,  we  may  include,  primarily,  the  carcases  of 
elephants  and  rhinoceroses  found  in  ice,  or,  perhaps,  more  properly, 
in  frozen  mud,  in  the  northern  latitudes.  In  1799,  Schumachoff,  a 
Tungusian  chief,  observed  a  shapeless  mass  in  the  ice,  on  the  penin- 
sula of  Tamset,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lena  :  in  1804,  it  became  de- 
tached, and  fell  on  the  sand.  It  was  found  to  be  an  elephant,  so 
entire,  that  the  dogs,  and  even  the  men,  partook  of  its  flesh.  The 
tusks  were  cut  off  and  sold,  and  the  skeleton,  with  some  of  the  hair, 
was  conveyed  to  the  imperial  museum  at  St.  Petersburgh,  where  it  is 
still  preserved.  A  rhinoceros,  described  by  Pallas,  in  1770,  as  dis- 
covered in  the  frozen  mud  on  the  banks  of  the  Viluji,  was  likewise 
covered  with  skin  and  hair.*  The  expedition  of  Captain  Beechey 
into  the  north  of  Asia,  has  brought  to  light  a  number  of  similar  dis- 
coveries ;  as  the  bones  of  these  two  animals  have  been  there  found  in 
considerable  numbers,  encased  in  frozen  sand.t  The  animals  thus 
found,  have  been  considered  as  belonging  to  different  species  from 
those  now  existing,  chiefly  in  consequence  of  the  hairy  coat  with 
which  they  were  covered.  Perhaps,  however,  the  variety  may  go  no 
further  than  is  traceable  in  well-known  animals,  which  in  some 
countries  have  the  skin  quite,  or  nearly,  bare,  while  in  others  they 
are  shaggy, — such  as  the  dog,  the  hairless  variety  of  which  is  well 
known.  Mr.  Fairholme  has  quoted  a  passage  from  Bishop  Heber's 
narrative,  showing  the  existence  of  some  elephants  covered  with  hair, 
in  India,  at  the  present  day  ;t  and  maintains,  that  experience  proves 
the  tendency  of  the  elephant  to  become  hairy,  in  colder  climates. 
However,  placing  this  {)oint  aside,  it  cannot  be  doubted,  that  these 
animals  must  have  been  surprised  by  some  sudden  overwhelming 
catastrophe,  which  destroyed  and  embalmed  them  in  one  and  the 
same  moment.  It  is  quite  foreign  to  our  purpose  to  inquire  whether 
these  animals  were  inhabitants  of  the  country  where  they  now  lie 
buried  ;  and,  if  so,  how  they  lived  in  so  cold  a  climate:  or  whether, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  climate  has  undergone  a  change.  It  does, 
indeed,  seem  most  probable,  that  they  lived  and  died  where  they  now 


*  See   the   "  Memoires  de   i'Acadeniie   Imp^iiaJe   de  St.   I'etersb." 
vol.  vii. 

t  See  the  Essay  on  this  subject   by  Professor  Bucklaiid,  at  tiio  end 
of  Captain  Beechey's  narrative. 
t  Uhi.  svp.  V.  35(S. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  205 

lie,  instead  of  having  been  transported  thither  ;  and  that  the  climate 
must  have  undergone  such  a  modification,  as  renders  it  no  longer  a 
fit  temperature  for  animals,  which  before,  could  not  only  endure  it, 
but  found,  in  its  vegetation,  their  necessary  sustenance.  This  change 
too,  must  have  been  so  sudden,  at  least,  to  all  appearances,  as  to  have 
allowed  no  time  for  decomposition ;  but  a  sudden  cold  must  have 
frozen  the  animals,  almost  as  soon  as  dead.  How  all  this  can  have 
happened,  is  a  matter  of  system  and  conjecture  ;  but  assuredly  it  is 
nowise  inconsistent  with  the  idea  of  a  scourge,  intended  not  only  to 
sweep  all  life  from  the  earth,  but  also  to  complete  the  original  curse, 
by  causing  such  modifications  of  climate,  or  other  influential  agents 
on  vitality,  as  should  reduce  the  immense  longevity  of  mankind,  from 
the  antediluvian  to  the  patriarchal  term. 

Whatever  difficulties  therefore  there  may  be,  yet  unsolved  in  the 
class  of  phenomena  I  have  explained,  it  is  evident  that,  so  far  from 
standing  in  opposition  to  the  character  of  the  last  great  revolution, 
they  appear  on  the  contrary  better  explicable  by  admitting  it,  than  by 
any  other  hypothesis.  And  hence  Pallas  owns  "  that,  until  he  had 
e-xplored  these  parts,  and  witnessed  such  striking  monuments,  he 
never  had  persuaded  himself  of  the  truth  of  the  deluge."* 

The  second  class,  comprising  the  bones  of  animals  preserved  in 
caverns,  possesses  greater  interest  than  the  first.  To  enumerate  all 
the  situations,  where  these  sepulchres  of  the  early  world  are  found, 
whether  in  England  or  on  the  continent,  would  greatly  exceed  the 
limits  I  must  keep  ;  I  will  therefore  content  myself  with  giving  you  a 
general  idea  of  them,  from  Buckland's  accurate  description.  The 
one  which  first  excited  very  general  attention,  was  that  of  Kirkdale 
in  Yorkshire.  It  was  discovered  in  a  quarry  in  1821,  and  presented 
a  very  small  opening,  through  which  a  man  was  obliged  to  creep. 
The  floor  was  covered  superficially  with  stalagmite,  or  the  calca- 
reous deposit  formed  by  water,  dripping  from  the  roof  Under  this 
was  a  rich  loam  or  mud,  in  which  were  encrusted  the  bones  of  a 
variety  of  animals  and  birds.  By  far  the  greater  quantity  of  teeth 
belonged  to  the  hyaena,  and  among  them  were  specimens  indicating 
every  age.  In  addition  to  these,  were  bones  of  the  elephant,  rhi- 
noceros, bear,  wolf,  horse,  hare,  water-rat,  pigeon,  lark,  etc.  Be- 
sides other  evidences  of  tliis  cavern  having  been  the  lair  of  hysenas 
through  successive  generations,  the  bones  were  almost  without  ex- 
ception in   a  state  of  comminution,  splintered  and   broken,  with  the 

*  "Essaisur  la  Fonnaiion  dcs  Moutacnes." 


206  LECTURE    THE     SIXTH. 

exception  of  such  hard,  solid  bones  as  would  best  resist  the  action  of 
the  teeth.  There  were  ia  fact  tooth-prints,  if  I  may  say  so,  upon 
many  of  the  bones,  which  were  found  exactly  to  correspond  with  the 
teeth  of  the  hyaenas  discovered  in  the  cave.  By  comparing  these 
traces  with  the  actual  habits  of  these  animals,  by  examining  tlie  ex- 
tent and  character  of  the  accumulation,  and  taking  into  account,  the 
position,  and  accessories  of  the  cavern.  Dr.  Buckland  comes  to  the 
interesting  conclusion,  that  it  must  have  been  for  ages  the  haunt  of 
hyaenas,  which  dragged  in  the  bones  of  the  animals  they  had  slaugh- 
tered, and  cranched  them  there  at  leisure  ;  and  that  an  irruption  of 
water  carried  into  the  cavern  the  loam  in  which  they  now  are  imbed- 
ded, and  which  has  preserved  them  from  decay.  Such  a  conclusion 
exactly  accords  with  the  character  of  the  deluge.*  This  description 
may,  in  the  main,  be  considered  applicable  to  the  other  most  cele- 
brated caverns,  such  as  those  of  Torquay,  Gailenreuth,  KUloch,  etc. ; 
though  it  is  observable  that  in  the  German  caverns  the  bones  of  bears 
chiefly  predominate. 

The  facts  expounded  by  Professor  Buckland,  are  admitted  by  all 
to  have  been  observed  with  scrupulous  exactne&s,  and  detailed  with 
perfect  impartiality  :  his  reasoning,  however,  and  conclusions,  have 
not  escaped  criticism.  Mr.  Granville  Penn,  in  particular,  has  at- 
tacked the  whole  of  his  explanation  with  considerable  earnestness 
and  ingenuity,  and  maintained  that  the  bones  must  have  been 
washed  into  the  cavern  by  the  flood,  which  caught  them  up  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  forced  them  through  the  narrow  opening  in  the 
cliff.  As  he,  however,  agrees  in  the  most  important  points,  that  is,, 
that  here  we  have  a  strong  evidence  of  the  deluge,  it  is  unnecessary 
to  go  into  his  arguments.  It  may  be  sufficient  to  say,  that  geologists 
have  not  been  gained  over  by  his  reasoning ;  and  that  Cuvier, 
Brongniart,  and  others,  have  continued  to  retain  Buckland's  explan- 
ation. 

But  there  is  another  more  important  question,  which,  perhaps, 
could  not  be  so  easily  solved  when  the  learned  professor  published 
his  interesting  account.  Have  human  bones  been  discovered,  so 
blended  with  the  remains  of  animals,  that  we  may  conclude  man  to 
have  been  subject  to  the  action  of  that  catastrophe  which  swept  these 
from  existence  ?  Certainly  the  instances  which  could  come  under 
his  observation  were  such  as  to  justify  the  conclusion  to  which  he 


*  "  Reli(]iiia?,"  p|).  1 — .')1. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES,  207 

came,  that  wherever  human  bones  had  been  discovered,  mixed  with 
those  of  animals,  they  had  been  introduced  into  the  cavern  at  a  later 
period.  But  there  appear  to  be  one  or  two  instances  rather  varying 
in  circumstances  from  these  examples. 

The  cave  of  Durfort,  in  the  Jura,  was  first  visited  in  1795  by  M. 
Hombres  Firmas,  who  did  not,  however,  publish  any  account  of  it 
till  he  had  examined  it  again,  twenty-five  years  later.  His  essay  ap- 
peared under  the  title  of  Not  ires  snr  dcs  Ossemc7zs  Tlumains  Fossiles. 
In  1823,  M.  Marcel  de  Sorres  published  a  more  detailed  account  of 
it.  The  cavern  is  situated  in  a  calcareous  mountain,  about  300  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  entered  by  a  perpendicular  shaft  20 
feet  deep.  Upon  entering  the  cavern  from  this  shaft,  by  a  narrow 
passage,  there  is  a  space  three  feet  square,  containing  human  bones, 
incorporated,  like  the  Kirkdale  remains,  in  a  calcareous  paste.* 

But  a  still  more  accurate  observation,  accompanied  with  the  same 
results,  has  been  made  by  M.  Marcel  de  Serres  upon  the  bones 
found  in  the  tertiary  limestone  at  Pondres  and  Souvignargues,  in  the 
department  of  tlie  Herault.  Here  M.de  Cristolles  discovered  human 
bones  and  pottery,  mixed  with  the  remains  of  the  rhinoceros,  bear, 
hyaena,  and  many  other  animals.  They  were  imbedded  in  mud  and 
fragments  from  the  limestone  rock  in  the  neighborhood.  Under  this 
accumulation,  in  some  places  as  thick  as  thirteen  feet,  is  the  original 
floor  of  the  cavern.  The  human  bones  were  found,  on  a  careful 
analysis,  to  have  parted  with  their  animal  matter,  as  completely  as 
those  of  the  hyaena  which  accompanied  them.  Both  are  equally  brit- 
tle, and  adhere  as  strongly  to  the  tongue.  To  assure  themselves  of 
this  point,  MM.  de  Serres  and  Ballard- compared  them  with  bones 
extracted  from  a  Gaulish  sarcophagus,  and  supposed  to  have  been 
buried  fourteen  hundred  years  ;  and  the  result  was,  that  the  fossil 
bones  must  be  much  more  ancient.t 

In  this  instance,  however,  the  discovery  of  pottery  makes  it  pos- 
sible that  the  human  bones  may  have  been  later  introduced.  For, 
while,  on  the  one  hand,  we  cannot  suppose  men  to  have  tenanted 
the  same  cavern  with  hyaenas;  on  the  other,  we  cannot  imagine  that 
these  animals,  however  they  might  have  indulged  their  bone  devour- 
ing propensities  at  the  expense  of  man,  would  have  introduced   his 


*  "Granville  Penn's  Comparative  Estimate  of  the  Mineral  and  Mo- 
saical  Geologie.i,"  2d.  ed.  1825,  vol.  ii.  p.  394. 

t  "Lyell,"  vol.  ii.  p.  225. 


208  LECTURE    THE    SIXTH, 

pottery  into  their  haunts,  or  tried  their  teeth  upon  it.  Accident, 
therefore,  or  design,  may  have  entombed  some  later  inhabitant  of  the 
neighborhood  in  the  more  ancient  dwelhng  of  tlie  wild  beast; 
though  we  must  still  account  for  the  human  bones  being  kneaded  up 
in  the  same  paste  as  the  others.  In  either  hypothesis,  however,  we 
have  apparently  a  satisfactory  proof  that  a  violent  revolution,  caused 
by  a  sudden  irruption  of  water,  destroyed  the  animals  which  inhabited 
the  northern  parts  of  Europe;  and  the  corresponding  phenomena  in 
the  southern  parts,  corroborated  by  similar  discoveries  in  Asia  and 
America,  show  that  its  influence  extended  further  still.  In  the  mid- 
dle of  the  last  century,  some  human  bones  were  said  to  have  been 
found  encrusted  in  a  very  hard  rock,  and  were  considered  evidence 
of  diluvial  action.* 

The  third  class  of  animal  remains  which  I  mentioned,  consists  of 
the  osseous  breccia,  as  it  has  been  called,  found  generally  in  the 
fissures  of  rocks,  or  even  in  large  caverns.  It  is  formed  of  bones 
strongly  cemented  together,  and  with  fragments  from  the  surround- 
ing rocks.  De  la  Beche  has  minutely  examined  that  which  is  found 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Nice ;  and  Dr.  Buckland  has  collected  par- 
ticular details  of  that  discovered  at  Gibraltar.t  This  species  of  in- 
corporation is  generally  considered  to  have  different  dates,  in  differ- 
ent circumstances  ;  but  some  of  it  may,  perhaps,  be  pronounced  as 
contemporary  in  its  formation,  with  the  other  deposits  I  have  de- 
scribed. 

And  here  I  close  the  first  part  of  my  argument,  or  rather  of  my 
statements,  regarding  the  latest  conclusions  of  geology,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  last  revolution,  which  disturbed  the  surface  of  the  earth. 
But  before  proceeding  further,  I  must  meet  a  difficulty  which  may 
easily  be  raised.  There  are  many  and  very  learned  geologists,  who  at- 
tribute several  of  the  phenomena  I  have  described  to  older  revolu- 
tions than  the  great  cataclysm,  or  deluge,  described  in  Scripture  ; 
nay,  some  perfectly  sound  writers  distinguish  the  geological  deluge 


*  "A  very  curious  and  particular  account  of  some  skeletons  of  hu- 
man bodies  discovered  in  an  ancient  tomb,  translated  from  the  French  ; 
as  also  a  circumstantial  account  of  some  petrified  human  bodies  found 
last  February  standing  upright  in  a  rock." — Lond.  17G0.  See  the  lat- 
ter at  the  end  of  the  work. 

t  "  Geolog.  Trans."  vol.  iii.  p.  17a     "  Reliquiae/'  p.  156. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  -209 

from  the  historical,  which  they  consider  only  a  partial  inundation  ;* 
and  ascribe  to  the  former  all  the  appearances  I  have  explained. 

To  these  reflections  I  would  variously  reply.  First,  I  would  say 
that  the  discovery  of  human  bones  must  ultimately  decide  this  point  ; 
for,  if  they  can  be  proved  to  exist  in  similar  situations,  or  under  the 
same  circumstances,  as  those  of  the  animals  in  caverns,  we  must 
assume  the  cause  of  their  destruction  to  be  what  history  describes. 
For  if  this,  whether  sacred  or  profane,  represents  men  and  animals 
as  swept  from  existence  by  an  inundation  of  waters,  and  if  geology 
exhibits  the  effects  of  precisely  such  a  catastrophe,  and  gives  there- 
with evidence  that  no  later  revolution  has  happened,  it  would  be  most 
unphilosophical  to  disjoin  the  two.  For  their  concurring  testimony 
is  like  that  of  a  written  document,  with  a  medal  or  other  mon- 
ument; just  as  the  triumphal  arch  which  commemorates  Titus's  vic- 
tory over  the  Jews,  by  the  representation  of  their  spoils,  though  with- 
out a  date,  will  be  referred,  by  every  sensible  man,  to  the  conquest, 
so  minutely  described  by  Josephus, 

But  suppose  it  should  be  proved,  that  all  the  phenomena  I  have 
described  belong  to  an  earlier  era,  should  I  regret  the  discovery  ? 
Most  assuredly  not :  for  never  should  I  fear,  and  consequently  never 
should  I  regret,  any  onward  step  in  the  path  of  science.  Should  it 
be  possible  to  discover  an  accurate  system  of  geological  chronology, 
and  should  any  of  these  appearances  be  shown  to  belong  to  a  remoter 
epoch,  I  would  resign  them  without  a  struggle ;  perfectly  sure,  in 
the  first  place,  that  nothing  could  be  proved,  hostile  to  the  sacred  re- 
cord :  and  in  the  second,  that  such  a  destruction  of  the  proofs  which 
we  have  here  seen,  would  only  be  a  preliminary  to  the  substitution  of 
others  much  more  decisive.  Who  regrets,  for  instance,  that 
Scheuchzer's  homo  diluvli  testis,  or  man  who  bore  witness  to  the  del- 
uge, should  have  turned  out  to  be  only  part  of  an  animal  of  the  sala- 
mander genus  ?  He,  indeed,  thought  it  a  most  important  proof;  but 
surely  no  lover  of  truth  can  be  sorry  that  it  could  have  been  detected, 
or  can  repine,  that  its  weak  evidence  sliould  have  been  replaced  by 
the  co-ordinate  facts  which  I  have  brought  together.  "The  Chris- 
tian religion,"  says  Fontenelle,  "  has  at  no  time  needed  false  proofs 
to  aid  its  cause ;  and  this  is  still  more  the  case  now,  from  the  care 
which  the  great  men  of  this  age  have  taken  to  establish  it  on  its  true 
foundations,  with  greater  strength  than  the  ancients  had  done.     We 

*  "  Boubee,"  p.  43.  cf.  p.  203. 
•27 


210  LECTURE    THE    SIXTH. 

should  be  filled  with  such  a  just  confidence  in  our  religion,  as  will 
make  us  reject  false  advantages,  which  another  cause  might  not  neg- 
lect."* Whatever  we  may  think  of  the  opinions  of  this  writer,  his 
judgment  of  our  sincerity  in  that  reliance  which  we  place  upon  our 
cause  is  perfectly  correct.  I  will  further  add,  that  I  am  only  the  his- 
torian of  this  and  other  sciences,  viewed  in  reference  to  the  Christian 
evidences ;  I  have  only,  in  general  to  record  the  opinions  of  men 
learned  in  their  respective  pursuits,  comparing  the  past  with  the  pres- 
ent. The  ground  is  constantly  changing  under  our  feet ;  and  we 
should  be  contented  with  any  science,  if  its  progressive  development 
shall  be  proved,  by  experience,  favorable  to  a  holier  cause. 

We  come  now  to  the  interesting  inquiry,  how  far  geological  phe- 
nomena tend  to  prove  the  oneness  of  this  catastrophe  ;  in  other  words, 
whether  recent  observations  lead  us  to  suppose  a  multiplicity  of  local 
inundations,  or  one  great  scourge,  upon  an  awfully  magnificent  scale. 
Now,  in  answer  to  this,  I  will  say  that  appearances  indicate  the  lat- 
ter case. 

For,  in  the  first  place,  you  cannot  have  failed  to  remark,  that  in 
the  sketch  which  I  gave  you  of  the  course  which  the  rolled  blocks 
and  drifted  matter  must  have  taken,  they  present  an  almost  uniform 
direction  from  north  to  south.  The  bowlders  of  Durham  and  York- 
shire are  from  Cumberland,  those  of  Cumberland  from  Scotland, 
those  of  Scotland  from  Norway.  Pebbles  from  the  same  country  are 
found  in  Holderness ;  and  the  valley  of  the  Thames  is  supplied  with 
them,  disposed  in  the  form  of  torrent  beds,  from  near  Birmingham. 
On  the  continent  it  is  the  same  ;  for  the  erratic  blocks  of  Germany 
and  Poland  are  traceable  to  Sweden  and  Norway.  Brongniart  has  al- 
so remarked,  that  they  run  in  parallel  lines  from  north  to  south,  some- 
times slightly  varying  a  little  in  direction,  but  always,  in  the  main, 
presenting  the  appearance  of  having  been  borne  downwards  from  the 
north  by  an  overpowering  current.  You  will  remember,  too,  how 
Dr.  Bigsby's  observations  showed  him,  that  the  detritus  in  North 
America  came  always  from  points  further  to  the  north.  In  Jamaica, 
the  same  course  seems  observable.  For  De  la  Beche  notices  the 
great  plain  of  Liguanea,  upon  which  Kingston  is  situated,  as  being 
wholly  composed  of  diluvial  gravel,  consisting  principally  of  the  de- 
tritus of  the  Saint  Andrew's  and  Port-Royal  mountains,  and  evident- 
ly produced  by  causes  not  now  in  action,  but  derived  from  those 

*  "Histoire  des  Oracles,"  p.  4,  ed.  .Imsl.  1687. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  211 

mountains  in  tlie  same  manner,  and  probably  at  the  same  period, 
with  the  numerous  tracts  of  European  gravel,  which  have  resulted 
from  the  partial  destruction  of  European  rocks."  Now,  these  moun- 
tains are  to  the  north  of  the  plain.  Again,  the  plain  of  Vere  and 
Lower  Clarendon  is  diluvial,  and  its  materials  seem  derived  from  the 
trap  districts  among  the  St.  John's  and  Clarendon  mountains,  which 
are  situated  towards  the  north.* 

This  coincidence  of  direction  in  the  course  pursued  by  the  ocean- 
current^in  such  remote  parts  of  the  world,  whether  we  measure  their 
distance  from  north  to  south,  or  from  east  to  west,  seems  to  indicate 
clearly  the  operation  of  a  uniform  course.  For,  if  we  suppose  the 
sea  to  have  broken  in  upon  the  land  at  different  periods,  it  might  be 
atone  time,  for  instance,  the  Baltic,  at  another  the  Mediterranean,  at 
another  the  Atlantic  ;  and  in  each  case  the  direction  of  the  scourge, 
as  evinced  by  its  traces,  would  be  naturally  varied.  Whereas,  at 
present,  not  only  is  the  admission  of  one  only  deluge  the  simplest,  and 
consequently  the  most  philosophical  explanation  of  these  constant  and 
uniform  phenomena  ;  but  a  variety  of  such  catastrophes  can  hardly 
be  admitted,  without  supposing  that  each  must  have  disturbed  the  ef- 
fects of  the  preceding:  so  that  we  should  have  crossing  lines  of 
drifted  matter,  and  varied  directions  in  the  rolled  masses,  to  disturb 
every  calculation.  Yet  nothing  of  this  sort  has  been  discovered  in 
tracts  hitherto  explored;  and  therefore,  sound  science  should  con- 
clude that  the  cause  was  only  one.  Nor  would  this  reasoning  be 
much  impaired,  should  subsequent  investigation  in  more  distant  coun- 
tries lead  to  different  results.  For  we  must  naturally  suppose  that 
other  oceans,  besides  the  northern,  were  sluiced  out  upon  the  earth 
to  produce  its  last  great  purgation  ;  and  from  them  the  lines  of 
drifted  masses  would  point  in  another  direction. 

If  the  tracks  of  these  transported  materials  show  a  uniform  direc- 
tion, we  may  expect  the  road  over  which  they  travelled  to  be  worn  in 
a  corresponding  manner.  The  first  to  notice  this  appearance,  as  I 
have  already  mentioned,  was  Sir  James  Hall,  who  ob?c^rved  that  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Edinburgh  the  rocks  are  marked  with  ruts  or 
lines,  apparently  scooped  out  by  the  passage  of  heavy  rolled  masses, 
in  the  direction  from  east  to  west.  Mr.  Murchison  has  minutely  de- 
scribed the  same  appearance  in  the  Brora  district,  in  Sutherlandshire. 
— "  I  remarked,"  he  observes,  "  in  my  former  paper,  that  these  hills 


*  "On  the  Geology  of  Jamaica,"  Geo).  Trans,  vol.  ii.  pp.  182,  184 


212  LECTURE    THE    SIXTH. 

probably  owe  their  origin  to  denudation  ;  which  supposition  is  now 
confirmed  by  the  exposure  on  their  surface  of  innumerable  ])arallel 
furrows  and  irregular  scratches,  both  deep  and  shallow, — such,  in 
short,  as  can  scarcely  have  been  produced  by  any  other  operation 
thnn  the  rush  of  rock  fragments  transported  by  some  powerful  cur- 
rent. The  furrows  and  scratches  apjiear  to  have  been  made  by 
stones  of  all  sizes,  which  (with  the  occasional  exception  of  lines 
slightly  diverging,  probably  occasioned  by  the  smaller  pebbles  com- 
ing forcibly  in  contact  with  the  larger,)  preserve  a  general  parallel- 
ism, with  a  direction  from  N.W.  to  S.E."*  This  coincidence  is 
certainly  remarkable,  and  leaves  little  room  to  doubt  the  unity  of  the 
cause,  which  produced  such  uniform  results. 

I  will  not  dwell  upon  the  coincidence  of  other  appearances,  as  the 
similarity  of  distribution  in  the  diluvium,  and  its  organic  remains,  in 
different  parts  of  the  world  ;  for  the  remarks  I  already  made  will  suffice 
to  show  you,  that  the  probabilities  are  greatly  in  favor  of  one  single 
cause  having  produced  them  all.  Neither  shall  I  detain  you  upon 
another  important  conclusion,  resulting  manifestly  from  all  that  has 
been  said,  that  the  last  inundation  was  not  like  the  supposed  preced- 
ing ones,  a  long  submersion  under  the  sea,  but  only  a  temporary  and 
passing  flood,  just  such  as  the  Scriptures  describe  it.  That  the  land 
previous  to  it  was,  in  part  at  least,  the  same  as  now,  is  apparent  from 
the  hysena  caverns :  that  it  was  only  for  a  limited  period  under  water, 
appears  from  the  absence  of  all  such  deposits  as  suppose  solution ; 
for  its  sediment  is  composed  of  loose  materials,  gravels,  breccias,  and 
mingled  debris,  such  as  a  river  or  sea  on  a  gigantic  scale,  might  be 
supposed  first  to  take  up,  and  then  to  leave  behind  it. 

We  come  at  length  to  another  still  more  int'-resting  question  : 
Does  geology  give  any  data  towards  ascertaining,  with  tolerable  pre- 
cision, the  era  of  this  last  revolution  ?  To  this  I  think  we  may  safe- 
ly reply — and  some  of  the  authorities  quoted  expressly  say  it — that 
the  general,  and,  if  you  please,  vague  impression  produced  upon  ac- 
curate observers,  by  geological  facts  is,  that  the  last  visitation  is  of 
comparatively  modern  date.  The  earth's  surface  presents  the  ap- 
pearance of  having  been  but  lately  moulded,  and  the  effects  of  causes 
in  actual  operation  appear  but  small,  unless  restricted  to  a  very  lim- 
ited period.  Thus,  if  we  look  at  the  trifling  accumulation  of  rubbish 
or  fragments,  which  surrounds  the  loot  of  lofty  mountain  chains,  or 


*  "  Geol.  Trans."  vol.  ii.  p.  ;}57. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  '213 

at  the  small  progress  made  by  rivers  in  tilling  up  the  lakes  through 
which  they  pass,  in  spite  of  the  mud  they  daily  and  hourly  deposit, 
we  are  necessarily  driven  to  acknowledge,  that  a  few  thousands  of 
years  are  amply  sufficient,  to  account  for  the  present  state  of  things. 

But  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  proceed  in  this  investigation, 
with  far  more  approximative  accuracy,  by  measuring  the  periodical 
effects  of  such  causes  as  I  have  incidentally  mentioned,  so  to  deter- 
mine, with  some  precision,  the  length  of  time  which  must  have  elap- 
sed since  first  they  began  to  act.  Deluc  was  the  first  who  took  some 
pains  to  observe  and  collect  such  data,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of 
chronometers.  He  has,  indeed,  been  severely  lashed  for  his  attempt, 
by  writers  of  an  opposite  school  ;*  and  yet  it  is  but  fair  to  remark, 
that  his  conclusions,  and  even  in  great  measure  their  premises,  were 
adopted  by  Cuvier,  whose  sagacity  and  immense  geological  knowl- 
edge few  will  attempt  to  impugn.  It  is, therefore,  rather  as  admitted 
by  him,  than  as  proposed  by  the  other,  that  I  shall  j)roceed  briefly  to 
lay  before  you  the  line  of  proof  adopted  in  his  system.  The  general 
results  it  is  directed  to  afford,  are  first,  that  the  present  continents 
have  not  existed  any  thing  like  the  time  supposed  or  required  by  the 
advocates  of  causes  now  in  action  ;  secondly,  that  whenever  any 
accurate  and  definite  measure  of  time  can  be  obtained,  it  is  nearly 
coincident  with  that  which  Moses  assigns,  for  the  existence  of  the 
present  order  of  things.  Considering  the  immense  distance  of  time 
to  which  we  have  to  go  back,  there  must  be  considerable  discrepan- 
cies between  the  different  dates  ;  but  they  are  not  greater  than  the 
chronological  tables  of  various  nations,  or  even  those  of  one  nation, 
as  given  by  different  authors,  will  exhibit. 

One  method  of  attempting  to  arrive  at  the  date  of  our  last  revolu- 
tion, is  that  of  measuring  the  increase  made  by  the  deltas  of  rivers, 
that  is,  the  land  gained,  at  the  mouths  of  rivers,  from  the  sea,  by  the 
gradual  deposit  of  mud  and  earth,  which  they  bear  along  with  them 
in  their  course.  By  examining  history,  we  may  ascertain  the  distance, 
at  a  given  date,  of  the  head  of  the  delta  from  the  sea,  and  thus  with 
accuracy  determine  the  annual  increase.  By  comparing  this  with 
the  whole  extent  of  territory,  which  owes  its  existence  to  the  river, 
we  should  have  an  estimate  of  how  long  it  has  flowed  through  its 
present  channel.  But  hitherto,  this  measurement  has  been  but 
vaguely  taken,  and  consequently  little  more  has  been  gained  than  a 

*  "  Lyell,"  vol.  i.  pp.  224,  300. 


214  LECTURE    THE    SIXTH. 

negative  conclusion,  opposed  to  the  countless  ages  required  by  some 
geologists.  Thus,  the  advance  of  the  delta  of  the  Nile  is  very  sensi- 
ble ;  for  the  city  of  Rosetta,  which,  a  thousand  yeais  ago,  stood  upon 
the  sea,  is  now  two  leagues  distant  from  it.  According  to  Demadlet, 
the  cape  before  it  was  prolonged  half  a  league  in  twenty-five  years, 
but  this  must  have  been  a  very  extraordinary  instance.  However,  it 
is  unnecessary  to  suppose  so  immense  a  distance  of  time,  from  which 
to  date  the  commencement  of  this  formation.  The  delta  of  the 
Rhone,  was  proved  by  Astruc,  by  comparing  its  present  state  with 
the  accounts  of  Pliny  and  Mela,  to  have  increased  nine  miles  since 
the  Christian  era.  That  of  the  Po  was  scientifically  examined  by 
M.  Prony,  by  commission  of  the  French  government.  You  are  most 
of  you  probably  aware  of  the  high  embankments  between  which  this 
river  runs:  and  this  engineer  ascertained  that  its  level  is  higher  than 
the  roofs  of  the  houses  of  Ferrara,  and  that  it  has  gained  6,000  fath- 
oms on  the  sea  since  1004,  or  at  the  rate  of  150  feet  a  year.  Hence 
Adria,  which  once  gave  its  name  to  the  Adriatic,  is  removed  eight- 
een miles  from  the  sea.  These  examples  will  not  allow  us  to  allot  a 
very  indefinite  period  to  the  action  of  these  rivers.  A  stream  carry- 
ing with  it  such  enormous  deposits,  that  their  yearly  increase  may  be 
almost  called  visible,  could  not  have  required  so  many  thousands  of 
years  to  reach  its  present  level.* 

According  to  Gervais  de  la  Prise,  the  retreat  of  the  sea,  or  exten- 
sion of  the  land  by  the  depositions  of  the  Orme,  may  be  accurately 
measured,  by  monuments  erected  at  different  known  epochs;  and 
the  result  is,  that  these  causes  cannot  have  been  in  operation  longer 
than  six  thousand  years.t 

A  more  interesting  chronometer  is  that  of  dunes.  By  this  term 
are  signified  heaps  of  sand,  which  first  accumulate  on  the  shore,  and 
then  are  pushed  forwards,  by  the  wind,  upon  the  cultivated  lands,  so 
as  to  desolate  and  destroy  them.  They  often  rise  to  an  almost  in- 
credible height,  and  drive  before  them  pools  of  rain-water,  the  dis- 
charge of  which  into  the  sea,  they  effectually  cut  off.  Deluc  paid 
particular  attention  to  those  on  the  coast  of  Cornwall,  and  has  de- 
scribed many  of  them  very  minutely.     Thus,  one  in  the  neighborhood 


*  Cuvier,  "  Disconrs  prelirninaire,"  3d  edit.  Pam,  1825,  p.  J44. 
Deluc,  "  Lettres  a  M.  Blumeubach,"  [).  25G;  "Abrege  de  Goologie," 
Paris,  1816,  p.  97. 

t  "  Accord  du  Livre  de  la  Geiu'se  avoc  la  Geoloyie,"  Caev,  1803, 
p.  75. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES.  215 

of  Padstow  threatened  to  swallow  up  the  church,  which  it  completely 
overhung,  having  reached  the  very  roof;  so  that  all  access  would 
have  been  prevented,  but  for  the  circumstance  of  the  door  being  at 
the  other  end.  Several  houses  had,  however,  been  already  destroy- 
ed in  the  memory  of  man.*  In  Ireland,  these  moving  sands  are  not 
less  destructive.  The  vast  sand-plain  of  Rosapenna,  on  the  coast  of 
Donegal,  was,  little  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  a  beautiful  domain, 
belonging  to  Lord  Boyne.  A  few  years  ago,  the  roof  of  the  mansion- 
house  was  just  above  ground,  so  that  the  peasantry  used  to  descend 
into  the  apartments,  as  into  a  subterranean  ;  and  now  not  the  slight- 
est trace  of  this  is  visible.  But  no  part  of  Europe  suffers  so  severe- 
ly from  this  desolating  scourge,  as  the  department  of  the  Landes,  in 
France.  It  has  buried  fertile  plains  and  tall  forests  under  its  irresis- 
tible course  ;  not  only  houses,  but  villages,  mentioned  in  the  records 
of  past  ages,  have  been  covered  over,  without  chance  of  being  ever 
more  regained.  In  1802,  the  pools  invaded  five  valuable  farms  ;  and 
there  are  now,  or  were,  at  least,  a  few  years  ago,  ten  villages  threat- 
ened with  destruction  by  the  shifting  sands.  One  of  these,  called 
Mimisoa,  had  been  struggling,  when  Cuvier  wrote,  for  twenty  years, 
against  a  dune,  sixty  feet  high,  with  little  chance  of  success. 

Now  M.  Bremontier  studied  this  phenomenon  with  particular 
attention,  for  the  purpose  of  submitting  its  laws  to  calculation.  He 
ascertained  that  these  dunes  advance  from  sixty  to  seventy-two  feet  a 
year  ;  and  then  by  measuring  the  entire  space  they  have  overrun,  he 
concludes  that  their  action  cannot  have  commenced  much  more  than 
4000  years  ago.t  Deluc  had  previously  come  to  the  same  conclusion, 
from  measuring  those  of  Holland,  where  the  dates  of  dykes  enabled 
him  to  ascertain  their  progress  with  historical  accuracy. f 

I  should  only  be  repeating  the  same  conclusions,  were  I  to  detail 
to  you  his  researches  into  the  increase  of  turf,  or  the  accumulation  of 
detritus  at  the  base  of  hills,  or  on  the  growth  of  glaciers  and  their 
accompanying  phenomena.^     I  will  therefore  content  myself  with 

*  "  Abr^ge,"  p.  102. 

f  "  Cuvier,  p.  161.  See  D'Aubuisson,  "  Traite  de  Geognosie," 
Strasb.  1819,  vol.  ii.  p.  468. 

I  "  Abrege,"  p.  100. 

§  Cuvier,  p.  162.  Knight's  "Facts  and  Observations,"  p.  216. 
DeUic,  "Trait6el6mentairedeGeo]ogie,"Pam,1809,p.  129;  "Abreg6," 
pp.  116 — 134  ;  "  Correspondence  particuliere  entre  M.  le  Dr.  Teller  et 
J.  A.  Deluc,"  Hanov,  1803,  p  161.     A  popular  French  writer  on  geolo- 


5^16  LECTURE    THE    SIXTH. 

quoting  the  opinions  of  eminent  observers  of  general  geological  facts, 
in  favor  of  his  conclusions. 

"This  observation,"  says  Saussure,  speaking  of  the  devolution  of 
rocks  from  the  glaciers  of  Chamouny,  "  which  accords  with  many 
others  I  shall  make  later,  gives  us  reason  to  think,  with  M.  Deluc, 
that  the  actual  state  of  our  globe  is  not  as  ancient  as  some  philoso- 
phers have  imagined  it."* 

Dolomieu  writes  as  follows ;  "  I  will  defend  another  truth,  which 
appears  to  me  incontestable,  on  which  the  works  of  M.  Deluc  have 
enlightened  me,  and  of  which  I  think  I  see  proofs  in  every  page 
of  the  history  of  man,  and  wherever  natural  facts  are  recorded.  I 
will  say  then  with  M.  Deluc,  that  the  actual  state  of  our  continents  is 
not  very  ancient. "t 

Cuvier  has  not  only  assented  to  these  conclusions,  but  has  laid 
them  down  in  far  more  positive  terms.  "  It  is,  in  fact,"  he  says, 
"  one  of  the  most  certain,  though  least  expected,  results  of  sound 
geological  pursuits,  that  the  last  revolution,  which  disturbed  the  sur- 
face of  the  globe,  is  not  very  ancient."  And  in  another  place,  he 
adds,  "  I  think,  therefore,  with  MM.  Deluc  and  Dolomieu,  that  if 
there  be  any  thing  demonstrated  in  geology,  it  is,  that  the  surface  of 
our  globe  has  been  the  victim  of  a  great  and  sudden  revolution,  of 
which  the  date  cannot  go  back  much  further  than  five  or  six  thou- 
sand years."!  And  allow  me  to  observe,  that  Cuvier  intimates  with 
sufficient  clearness,  that  in  his  researches  he  has  not  allowed  him- 
self to  be  swayed  by  any  wish  to  vindicate  the  Mosaic  history. § 

gy,  speaking  of  the  accumulations  of  detritus,  brought  down  by  glaciers, 
and  deposited  where  they  melt,  known  in  Frenrh  by  the  name  of 
viureines,  thus  concludes:  "Their  formation  depending  upon  periodical 
and  nearly  constant  causes,  it  is  not  difficult  to  calculate  the  time  neces- 
sary for  giving  them  the  volume  which  we  know  them  to  possess  ;  and 
as  they  certainly  date  from  the  commencement  of  the  present  order  of 
things,  they  furnish  a  new  method  of  arriving  at  an  approximating 
knowledge  of  the  time  which  has  elapsed  since  the  last  cataclysm. 
This  calculation  leads  still  to  the  same  result,  and  gives  us  five  or  six 
thousand  years  at  most,  as  the  age  of  our  world."  He  then  proceeds, 
like  Cuvier,  to  show  how  exUctly  these  facts  agree  with  the  Mosaic 
records,  as  well  as  with  the  aimals  of  every  other  ancient  nation.  Dr. 
Bertrand's  "  Revolutions  of  the  Globe,"  English  trans.  1835,  p.  2G9. 
See  above,  p.  320. 

*  "  Voyage  dans  les  Alpes,"  §  G25. 

t  "  Journal  de  Physique,"  Paris,  1792,  part  i.  p.  42. 

t  "  Discours,"  pp.  139,  282.  §  Page  352. 


NATURAL    SCIENCES,  217 

I  trust  I  have  now  said  enough  to  satisfy  you  regarding  the 
modern  tendency  of  this  science  ;  and  I  doubt  not  but  Dr.  Buckland's 
expected  treatise,  in  the  Bridgewater  collection,  although  necessarily 
directed  to  show  its  connexion  with  natural  theology,  will  neverthe- 
less throw  further  light  upon  the  topics  I  have  discussed.  I  cannot 
here  refrain  from  expressing  a  wish  that  the  study  of  geology  may 
soon  enter  into  the  course  of  education,  as  completely  as  the  other 
physical  sciences.  It  is  while  the  memory  is  young,  and  curiosity 
active,  that  the  names  of  objects  are  most  easily  seized,  so  as  to  be 
firmly  retained.  Almost  any  district  will  present  formations  fit  to 
exemplify  the  study  ;  and  its  very  pursuit,  by  requiring  and  encour- 
aging actual  and  varied  examination,  gives  a  motive  and  a  stimulus 
to  exercise,  which  insures  health  conjointly  with  improvement. 

Many,  I  know,  entertain  the  idea,  that  too  minute  an  acquaint- 
ance with  the  material  workings  of  nature  greatly  weakens  that  more 
enthusiastic  and  poetic  feeling,  which  the  contemplation  of  her  face 
excites,  and  thus  produces  a  preponderance  of  a  cold  and  scrutiniz- 
ing, over  a  warm  and  admiring,  disposition.  Yet  I  know  not  how 
this  can  be,  except  from  some  defect  in  the  method  of  communicating 
such  knowledge.  There  can  be  no  reason  why  the  geologist  should 
not  stand  enraptured  on  the  mountain's  brow,  and  first  range,  with  a 
poet's  eye,  over  the  splendid  scene  of  an  Alpine  valley,  before  he 
descends  to  study  and  classify  the  various  rocks,  which  form  its 
magnificent  boundary.  How  should  the  comprehension  of  how  na- 
ture works,  be  at  all  opposed  to  the  perception  of  beauty  in  the  re- 
sults of  her  labors?  On  the  contrary,  it  should  seem  as  though  the 
one  must  form  a  natural  counterpart  to  the  other.  The  skilful 
musician  will,  by  casting  his  eyes  over  the  written  score,  unravel  in 
a  moment  its  mazy  movements,  give  to  each  note  its  harmonic  pow- 
er, and  so  combine  them  in  his  mind  together,  as  thence  to  drink 
more  music  through  his  eyes  than  the  untutored  listener  will  enjoy, 
when  he  hears  what  has  been  written  transformed  into  sound  ;  and 
so  may  the  learned  in  nature's  laws  measure  her  outward  appearan- 
ces by  such  just  rule,  as  must  give  him  a  truer  perception  of  her 
charms,  than  the  mere  observer  can  ever  attain.  To  the  unpractised 
eye,  the  web,  which  proceeds  from  the  loom,  will  appear  exceedingly 
beautiful,  and  in  design  most  orderly,  while  the  machinery  which 
produced  it,  seems  a  pile  of  confusion  through  its  complicated  wheels 
and  pullies  ;  yet  is  it  necessarily  the  type  of  what  it  brings  forth,  and 
the  experienced  artizan  will  perchance  read  in  it,  with  equal  admira- 
2S 


218  i-ect\;re  the  sixth. 

tion,  the  beautiful  pattern  it  is  calculated  to  work.  And  in  like 
manner  may  the  learned  naturalist  construct,  from  his  knowledge  of 
nature's  processes,  all  those  beautiful  objects  and  scenes,  which 
others  cannot  fancy  unless  they  have  actually  beheld  them.  The 
observation  of  how  the  rolled  masses  are  disposed  in  the  gorges,  and 
on  the  flanks,  of  the  southern  Alps,  must  have  led  the  discoverer  to 
form  in  his  mind  a  newer  and  a  truer  picture,  than  a  poet's  imagina- 
tion could  have  conceived,  of  the  course  pursued  by  the  huge  inun- 
dation which  burst  through  them,  tore  down  their  sides,  and  rode,  in 
rude  triumph,  with  their  rough  spoils,  into  the  plains  of  Italy.  The 
contemplation  of  volcanic  effects  by  a  scientific  eye,  which  can  dis- 
tino-uish  the  masses  thrown  up  by  explosion,  from  the  rolling  scum  of 
the  fiery  torrent,  and  can  note,  as  at  Glen-Tilt,  the  strange  and 
incom])rehensible  manner  wherein  the  hardest  granite,  reduced  into 
a  vitreous  fluid,  has  shot  upwards  into  the  superincumbent  rock,  and 
injected  itself  through  its  veins,  and  the  accurate  measurement  of 
the  causes  proportioned  to  such  mighty  effects,  would  convey,  we 
mav  suppose,  the  sublim.est  idea  possible,of  the  terrible  action  of  that 
powerful  element,  unto  whose  scourge  this  globe  is  yet  in  doom  re- 
served. 

It  would,  of  course,  be  impossible  to  bring  every  branch  of  the 
natural  sciences  so  completely  into  contact  with  sacred  studies,  as 
these  whereof  we  have  treated,  nor  can  it  be  necessary  to  do  so.  For 
there  is  one  way  in  which  they  all  can  be  made  subservient  to  the  in- 
terests of  religion,  by  viewing  them  as  the  appointed  channels  by 
which  a  true  perception  and  estimate  of  the  Divine  perfections  are 
meant  to  pass  into  the  understanding  ;  as  the  glass  wherein  the  em- 
bodied forms  of  every  great  and  beautiful  attribute  of  the  Supreme 
Being  may  best  be  contemplated  ;  and  as  the  impression  upon  the 
mind  of  the  great  seal  of  creation,  whereon  have  been  engraven,  by 
an  Almighty  hand,  mystical  characters  of  deepest  wisdom,  omnipo- 
tent spells  of  productive  power,  and  emblems  most  expressive  of  an 
all-embracing,  all-preserving  love.  And  even  as  the  engraver,  when 
he  has  cut  some  way  into  his  gem,  doth  make  proof  thereof  upon  the 
tender  wax;  and,  if  he  find  not  the  image  perfect,  is  not  thereby 
disheartened,  so  long  as  it  presents  each  time  a  progressive  approach 
to  its  intended  type,  but  returns  again  and  again  unto  his  peaceful 
task  ;  so  if  we  find  not,  that  at  once,  we  bear  uj>on  ourselves  the  clear 
and  deep  impress  of  this  glorious  signet,  must  not  we  fear  to  proceed 
with  our  labors,  but  go  on,  ever  striving  to  approach  nearer   and 


NATURAL    SCIENCES. 


219 


nearer  the  atiainment  of  a  perfect  representation.  A  few  years  will 
probably  bring  forward  new  arguments  for  the  great  facts  whereof 
we  have  treated,  which  will  render  all  that  you  have  heard  but  of 
small  value.  Those  that  come  after  us  will,  peradventure,  smile  at 
the  small  comprehension  granted  to  our  age,  of  nature  and  her  ope- 
rations :— we  must  be  content,  amidst  our  imperfect  knowledge,  with 
having  striven  after  that  which  is  more  full. 

For,  if  the  works  of  God  are  the  true,  though  faint  image  of  him- 
self, they  must,  in  some  way,  partake  of  his  immensity  ;  and,  as  the 
contemplation  of  his  own  unshadowed  beauty  will  be  the  unsating, 
everlasting  food  of  unembodied  spirits,  so  may  we  say,  that  a  similar 
proportion  hath  been  observed  between  the  examination  of  his  image 
reflected  on  his  works,  and  the  faculties  of  our  present  condition  ; 
inasmuch  as  therein  is  matter  for  meditation  ever  deeper,  for  discov- 
ery ever  ampler,  for  admiration  ever  holier.  And,  so  God,  not  being 
able  to  give  to  the  beauties  of  his  work  that  infinity  which  is  reserved 
to  the  attributes  they  exhibit,  has  bestowed  upon  them  that  quality 
which  best  supplies  and  represents  it ;  for,  by  making  our  knowledge 
of  them  progressive  he  has  made  them  inexhaustible. 


s 


LECTURE  THE  SEVENTH; 


EARLY    HISTORY 


PART  I. 


Connexion  of  this  subject  with  the  preceding. — Indians.  Exaggerated 
ideas  concerning  their  Antiquity.  Their  Astronomy.  Bailly's  attempt 
to  prove  its  extraordinary  antiquity.  Confutation  by  Delambre  and 
Montucla.  Researches  of  Davis  and  Bentley.  Opinions  of  Schau- 
bach,  Laplace,  and  others. — Chronology.  Researches  of  Sir  W. 
Jones,  Wilfort,  and  Hamilton.  Attempts  of  Heeren  to  fix  the  com- 
mencement of  Indian  History.  Discoveries  of  Colonel  Tod. — Oth- 
er Asiatic  Nations.  Latest  researches  into  the  early  history  of 
the  Armenians,  Georgians,  and  Chinese. 

After  having  thus  ascertained,  as  far  as  we  may,  when  was  first 
constructed  and  adorned  this  theatre,  upon  which  have  been  acted 
all  the  great  scenes  of  human  life,  it  may  seem  superfluous  to  inter- 
rogate those  who  have  trod  its  stage,  how  long  it  is  since  they  com- 
menced their  varied  drama  of  war  and  peace,  of  barbarism  and  of 
civilization,  of  rude  vices  and  of  simple  virtues.  For,  in  nature, 
whom  we  have  hitherto  consulted,  there  is  no  pride,  no  desire,  and 
no  power,  to  represent  herself  other  than  in  reality  she  is.  But  if  we 
ask  the  oldest  nations,  when  they  sprang  up,  and  when  they  first  en- 
tered on  the  career  of  their  social  existence,  there  arise  instantly  in 
the  way  of  a  candid  reply,  a  multitude  of  petty  ambitions,  jealousies, 
and  prejudices ;  and  there  intervenes  between  us  and  the  truth  a 
mist  of  ignorance,  wilful  or  traditional,  which  involves  the  inquiry 
both  in  mystery  and  perplexity,  and  leaves  us  to  find  our  way  by  the 
aid  of  the  most  uncertain  elements,  with  the  constant  danger  of  most 
serious  error. 


222  LECTURE  THE  SEVENTH. 

There  have  been,  moreover,  learned  and  acute  investigators,  who, 
having  peculiar  ends  to  gain  in  their  researches,  have  allowed  them- 
selves to  be  borne  away  by  these  representations, — have  admitted  as 
history  what  was  only  mythological  fable, — have  calculated  upon 
dates,  which  were  the  purest  fiction  : — and,  not  granting  to  the  Jew- 
ish books  the  authority  which  they  allowed  to  the  Indian  Vedas,  or 
the  Egyptian  list  of  kings,  have  most  inconsistently  condemned  our 
sacred  records,  because  they  imagined,  at  first  sight,  that  they  agreed 
not  with  those  of  other  nations.  Fortunately,  however,  we  have  dis- 
covered methods  which  they  knew  not ;  we  have  learned  to  cross- 
question  nations  in  their  early  history ;  we  have  accustomed  ourselves 
to  pore,  with  lawyer-like  skill,  over  worn-out  documents,  till  we  have 
made  out  their  value  or  detected  their  flaws ;  we  have  lost  the  relish 
for  sarcastic  disquisition,  that  levity  in  examination,  which  could  give 
a  witticism  the  force  of  an  argument,  and  have  learnt  to  love  a  sober 
and  solemn  mood  in  every  office  of  science, — to  prefer  the  real  to 
the  brilliant, — fact  to  theory, — and  patient,  plodding  comparison  to 
vague  analogies. 

The  preference  to  which  I  have  alluded,  as  given  by  learned  and 
able  men,  to  any  document  discovered  in  distant  lands,  over  those 
which  Christianity  received  from  the  Jewish  people,  is  assuredly  one 
of  those  many  facts,  which  combined,  establish  a  strange  phenome- 
non of  the  human  mind,  the  extravagant  love  of  the  wonderful  in  all 
that  is  out  of  our  reach,  and  the  desire  of  disparaging  that  which  we 
possess.  I  have  at  home  an  Arabic  manuscript,  professing  to  give 
among  other  very  miscellaneous  matter,  an  account  of  the  principal 
cities  in  the  world  ;  and,  of  course,  Rome  could  not  be  well  excluded 
from  the  number.  But  alas !  not  the  charmed  city  of  the  wildest 
romance,  not  the  fabulous  splendor  of  the  eastern  Iram,  not  the 
dreamy  imaginings  of  the  most  visionary  Utopian,  ever  planned  with 
such  a  noble  contempt  of  the  possibilities  of  human  wealth,  as  this 
sober  representation  of  the  Eternal  City  !  It  is  described  as  a  city 
of  some  sixty  or  eighty  miles  in  length,  through  which  flows  the  ma- 
jestic river  called  the  Romulus,  over  which  are  several  hundred 
bridges  of  brass,  so  constructed  that  they  may  be  removed  upon  the 
approach  of  an  enemy  ;  the  gates  of  the  city  are  numerous,  and  all 
of  the  same  materials;  a  minute  description  is  given  of  the  dimen- 
sions and  riches  of  many  churches,  among  which,  unluckily,  St.  Pe- 
ter's is  omitted  :  and  the  author  has  been  careful  to  note  how  many 
gates  of  brass,  and  how  many  of  silver ;  how  many  columns  of  mtr- 


EARLY    HISTORY.  223 

ble,  how  many  of  silver,  or  of  gold,  each  of  them  contains.  Strange- 
ly absurd  as  this  may  seem,  it  is  but  a  faint  parallel  of  what  well-ed- 
ucated Europeans  have  indulged  in,  when  first  describing  the  histor- 
ical and  scientific  wealth  of  eastern  nations,  then  comparatively  but 
little  known  amongst  us.  There  were  to  be  found,  astronomical 
processes  of  the  most  refined  character,  requiring  observations  at 
epochs  incalculably  remote  one  from  the  other;  there  were  periods  or 
cycles  of  time,  necessarily  framed  when  the  state  of  heavens  was 
countless  ages  younger  than  at  present ;  there  were  books  manifestly 
written  many  thousand  years  before  the  West  gave  any  signs  of  hu- 
man life  ;  there  were  monuments  obviously  erected  ages  before  the 
desolating  flood  is  said  to  have  swept  over  the  earth  ;  there,  in  fine, 
were  long  lists  of  kings,  and  even  of  dynasties,  well  attested  in  the 
annals  of  nations,  which  must  reach  back  far  beyond  the  epoch  as- 
signed, in  the  comparatively  modern  books  of  Moses,  to  the  creation 
of  the  world  ! 

And  now,  what  has  become  of  all  these  wonders  ?  Why,  you  who 
have  seen,  can  transmute  the  Arab's  fancies  into  their  vulgar  reali- 
ties, the  mighty  Romulus  into  the  yellow  Tiber,  the  brazen  gates  in- 
to wooden  portals,  the  gold  and  silver  into  stone  and  marble  ;  and 
you  have  perhaps  trotted  round  the  huge  city  in  your  morning  ride. 
And  so  I  trust  you  will  be  able  to  treat  the  no  less  baseless  visions  of 
philosophical  romance;  after  we  shall  have  visited,  to-day,  and  at  our 
next  meeting,  the  countries  where  all  those  scientific  and  literary 
marvels  were  said  to  exist,  you  will,  I  trust,  be  convinced,  that  those 
are  but  as  other  lands,  confined  like  ourselves  within  reasonable  lim- 
its of  duration  ;  that  the  stream  of  their  traditions  bears  down  with  it 
its  due  proportion  of  rubbish  and  defilement;  that  the  precious  ma- 
terials, whereof  their  monuments  and  temples  were  said  to  be  com- 
posed, are  but  the  ordinary  substance  of  which  all  things  human  must 
consist.  But  in  both  cases  tlie  truly  valuable  has  been  overlooked. 
The  Arab  was  not  refined  enough  to  understand  the  treasures  of  art 
which  we  here  possess,  and  which  are  far  more  valuable  than  gates 
of  silver,  or  pillars  of  gold  ;  and  the  vain  philosophers  of  the  last  cen- 
tury were  too  blind,  or  rather  blinded,  to  examine  the  real  wealth 
which  the  East  was  opening  to  their  industry,  in  the  confirmation  of 
primeval  truths,  in  the  illustration  of  holier  pursuits,  and  in  the  field 
of  ethnographical  and  moral  knowledge  which  it  affords. 

Opposed,  however,  to  what  I  have  said  on  the  tendency  of  men 
to  despise  what  they  hold  in  the  hand,  and  to  exaggerate  what  is  far 


224  LECTURE  THE  SEVENTH. 

removed,  are  the  very  objects  of  which  I  am  going  to  treat.  For, 
while  amongst  us  there  seems  to  be  this  strange  propensity ;  while 
any  discovery  at  variance  with  Scripture  is  eagerly  siezed  upon  by 
many, — of  which  we  shall  have  yet  plenty  of  examples,  if  the  past 
lectures  have  not  given  enough — while  there  is  an  unnatural  value 
set  upon  any  thing  brought  to  light  which  seems  to  clash  with  some 
assertion  of  the  sacred  text ;  the  nations  of  the  East  so  jealously  cling 
to  their  sacred  books,  and  so  pertinaciously  reject  every  fact  which 
may  prove  them  wrong,  the  Chinese,  and  the  Indians,  and  the  ancient 
Egyptians,  have  ever  been  so  attached  to  the  unerring  accuracy  of 
their  respective  records,  that  we  must  seek  some  other  explanation, 
than  a  natural  cause,  for  the  ease  wherewith  ours  are  so  often 
abandoned.  Nay,  I  believe,  that  had  the  books  of  Moses  not  been 
preserved  by  Christianity,  but  discovered  for  the  first  time  among  the 
Jews  of  China,  or  by  Dr.  Buchanan  among  those  of  Malabar,*  they 
would  have  been  received  as  a  treasure  of  historical  and  philosophi- 
cal knowledge,  by  those  who  have,  under  the  present  circumstances, 
slighted  and  blasphemed  them. 

It  is  not  my  intention,  of  course,  to  go  over  the  ground  which  has 
been  completely  drained  of  its  interest  by  older  writers,  such  as  the 
antiquity  of  the  Chaldeans  or  Assyrians,  and  the  objections  drawn  in 
former  times  from  the  fragments  of  Berosus  or  Sanconiathon.  They 
belong  to  the  class  of  mere  dry  chronology,  without  a  particle  of  histori- 
cal interest, — they  have  been  exhausted  by  many  popular  writers,— and 
they  may  be  said  to  have  been  abandoned  by  the  school  which  used 
to  give  them  some  value.  I  will,  therefore,  at  once  proceed  to  a 
country,  the  early  history  of  which  possesses  much  stronger  claims 
to  our  attention,  and  will  afford  a  strong  illustration  of  the  principle  I 
have  chiefly  in  view,  through  this  course  of  lectures. 

The  peninsula  of  India  should  seem  to  be  the  field  especially  de- 
livered by  Providence  to  the  cultivation  of  our  countrymen,  and  ought 
certainly  to  possess  a  peculiar  interest  for  us.  Nor  could  any  thing 
have  happened  more  opportunely,  for  the  wants  of  the  human  mind, 
than  the  discovery  of  its  literary  wealth.  The  taste  of  Europe,  which 
the  political  and  religious  convulsions  of  the  sixteenth  and  seven- 
teenth centuries  had  driven  to  seek  delight  and  food  in  the  recollec- 
tions of  ancient  classical  lore,  had  almost  begun  to  pall  with  the 
sweet  but  unvaried  repast ;  the  stream  of  newly  discovered   authors, 

*  Where  the  copies  of  the  Pentateucli  were  really  found. 


EARLV    niSTOllY.  225 

which,  for  a  time,  flowed   from   llie  younfr   press,  had  ceased  its  re- 
freshing supplies;  every  manuscript  had  been  collated,  every  accent 
adjusted,  every  debateable  letter  made  the  theme  of  learned  essays  ; 
we  longed,  if  possible,  for  something  quite  original,  and  able  to  rouse 
and  stimulate  our  languishing  appetite.     Arabia  and  Persia  had  been 
tried  in  vain.    Mohammedanism  sat  as  an  incubus  on  all  their  reliirious 
literature — their  exquisite  poetry  was  too  sensuous  to  satisfy  the  in- 
tellectual  demands  of  European  refinement,  and   their   history  was 
too  limited,  too  modern,  and  too  well   known,  from  its  connexions 
with  our  own,  to  excite  any  powerf^.il  interest.     Whatever  our  antici- 
pations of  India  may  have  been,  they  have  been  more  than  surpassed. 
We  appear,  on  a  sudden,  introduced  to  the  very  fountains  of  ancient 
philosophy,  to  the  laboratories  of  those  various  opinions  which  formed 
the  schools  of  the  West ;  to  the  nursery  of  our  race,  where  the  first 
accents  of  our  language  are  preserved  in  their  simplest  forms  ;  to  the 
very  oracle  or  sanctuary  of  all  ancient  heathen  worship, — to  the  in- 
nermost chamber  of  all  mystic  lore  and  symbolical  religion.     Here 
every  thing  bears  the  stamp  of  aboriginal  freshness  and  simplicity  ; 
and  we  feel,  that  whether  we  examine  the  philosophical  meditations 
of  its  sages,  or  the  early  and  mythological  annals  of  its  history,  we 
are  perusing  the  results  of  native  genius,  and   the  uninterpolated  re- 
cords of  national  traditions. 

But  we  must  not  allow  our  feelings  to  carry  us  too  far,  nor  allow 
ourselves  to  be  dazzled  by  the  novelty  of  the  scene,  to  an  exaggera- 
tion of  its  real  beauties.  As  well  might  the  naturalist,  upon  witness- 
ing the  gigantic  growth  of  the  African  or  American  forests,  com- 
pared with  the  pigmy  stature  of  our  trees,  calculate  that,  if  the  oak 
has  required  its  hundred  years  to  reach  its  strength,  they  must  have 
been  rooted  for  thousands  in  the  soil,  as  the  philosopher  cortclude, 
that  so  many  ages  must  have  been  requisite  to  give  to  the  systems  of 
science  which  we  there  find,  their  consistency  and  consolidation,  an- 
terior to  the  appearance  of  philosophy  in  the  West.  There  are  other 
elements  to  be  calculated  besides  time  ;  there  is,  in  the  one  instance, 
the  succulent  vigor  of  the  soil,  and  the  ripening  energies  of  the  cli- 
mate and  in  the  other,  the  complex  action  of  physical  and  moral 
influences  caused  by  an  early  settlement  in  a  congenial  country,  by 
the  fortunate  preservation  of  earliest  recollections,  and  a  peaceful 
state  amidst  objects  which  draw  the  mind  to  contemplation. 

I  fear  I  have  allowed  my  thoughts  to  ramble   from   reflection  to 
reflection,  without  sufiicient  regard  to  the  more  important  and  sub- 
29 


226  LECTURE  THE  SEVENTH. 

stantial  entertainment  which  you  require  at  my  hand  :  and  I  there- 
fore proceed  at  once  to  my  task.  I  have  not  to  consider  the  Indians 
to-day  in  reference  to  their  literature,  but  only  to  their  history.  And 
this  I  will  divide  into  two  parts.  First,  I  will  trace  the  history  of  in- 
quiry into  the  antiquity  of  their  scientific  knowledge,  particularly 
their  astronomy  ;  for  this  has  been  one  of  the  most  alarming  topics  in 
the  hands  of  men  hostile  to  religion.  Then  I  will  trace  for  you  a 
brief  sketch  of  the  researches  made  into  their  annals,  and  the  suc- 
cess experienced  in  unravelling  the  perplexities  of  their  political 
history. 

The  first  man  of  any  reputation  in  science,  who  gave  an  unnatu- 
ral antiquity  to  the  astronomical  discoveries  of  the  Hindoos,  was  the 
unfortunate  Bailly.  During  his  life,  he  possessed,  at  least  among 
less  profound  mathematicians,  a  very  brilliant  reputation  ;  but  he  was 
infected  with  all  the  defects  of  his  time,  a  love  of  bold  and  startling 
hypothesis,  splendidly  supported  by  ingenious  and  diversified  argu- 
ments. "  It  was  not  for  learned  men  that  he  wrote,"  says  Delambre, 
"  he  aspired  to  a  more  extensive  reputation.  He  yielded  to  the 
pleasure  of  entering  into  the  lists  with  Voltaire  ;  he  revived  the  old 
romance  of  the  Atlantis;  he  had  a  good  many  readers,  and  that  ru- 
ined him.  The  success  of  his  first  paradox  led  him  to  create  others. 
He  devised  his  extinct  nation ;  and  his  astro/noin}/  perfected  in  my- 
thological times  ;  he  made  every  thing  bear  upon  this  favorite  idea ; 
and  was  not  very  scrupulous  in  his  choice  of  means  to  give  color  to 
his  hypothesis."*  In  his  History  of  Ancient  Astronomy,  he  started 
the  theory  here  alluded  to.  By  analyzing  the  astronomical  formulas 
of  the  Hindoos,  as  far  as  known  through  the  imperfect  communica- 
tions of  Le  Gentil,  he  concluded  that  tliey  must  be  based  upon  actu- 
al observations,  but  that  the  present  state  and  character  of  the  Indians 
will  not  allow  us  to  consider  them  their  original  discoveries.  He  con- 
sequently treats  the  actual  astronomy  of  that  country  as  only  frag- 
ments and  wrecks  of  an  earlier  and  far  more  perfect  science  ;  and 
adding  to  these  conjectures  others  of  another  class,  based  upon  sur- 
mises, allegories,  and  obscure  hints,  he  brings  out  his  celebrated  the- 
ory, that  a  nation,  which  has  long  disappeared  from  the  world,  exist- 
ed many  ages  ago,  in  the  north  of  Asia,  from  which  all  the  learning 
of  the  southern  peninsula  was  derived.  The  Indians,  he  says,  formed 
in  his  opinion,  a  fully  constituted  nation  from   the  year  3553  before 


*  "Astronomie  du  iMoycn  .Age."  Par.  1809,  p.  xxxiv, 


EARLY    HISTORY.  9.'21 

Christ ;  and  this  is  the  reduced  date  of  their  dynasties.  It  is  aston- 
ishing, he  adds  in  another  place,  to  find  among  the  Brahmins  astro- 
nomical tables  whicli  are  five  or  six  thousand  years  old*  I  will  give 
you  one  specimen  of  his  reasoning  in  favor  of  the  northern  origin  of 
astronomy.  The  Chinese  have  a  temple  dedicated,  it  is  said,  to  the 
northern  stars;  and  it  is  called  '  the  palace  of  the  great  light.'  It 
contains  no  statue,  but  only  an  embroidered  drapery,  on  which  is  in- 
scribed, "  To  the  spirit  of  the  god  Petou."  The  Petous  are,  he  says, 
according  to  Magelhaens,  the  stars  of  the  north.  "  But  may  not  this 
temple  be  dedicated  to  the  aurora  boreaUs  ?  It  would  appear  that 
the  name  of  palace  of  the  great  light'  should  suggest  that  conjecture. 
Why  should  they  have  made  a  divinity  of  the  northern  stars  rather 
than  those  of  any  other  quarter?  They  have  nothing  remarkable, 
whereas  the  phenomena  of  the  aurora  borealis,  those  crowns,  those 
rays,  those  streams  of  light,  appear  to  have  something  in  them  quite 
divine."  This  conjecture  is  then  confirmed  by  another  of  M.  de 
Mairan,  that  Olympus  was  the  seat  of  the  Grecian  gods,  because  that 
mountain  was  particularly  seen  surrounded  by  the  northern  lights. 
But  then  the  aurora  borealis  is  not  at  all  remarkable  in  China;  for 
in  thirty-two  years.  Father  Perennin  never  saw  any  thing  worthy  of 
the  name.  "  We  therefore  see,"  thus  he  concludes,  "  in  this  spe- 
cies of  worship,  rendered  to  the  northern  lights  and  to  the  stars  of  the 
north,"  (here  the  two  objects  before  exchanged  are  artfully  united,) 
"  a  very  strong  trace  of  the  superstition  of  an  earlier  period,  and  of 
the  anterior  seat  of  the  Chinese  in  a  more  northern  climate,  where 
the  phenomenon  of  the  aurora  borealis,  being  more  extended  and 
more  frequent,  must  have  made  a  more  lively  impression  !"t 

Is  this  science,  or  is  it  romance?  is  it  history  or  vision  ?  Even 
Voltaire,  with  all  his  love  for  the  new  and  the  rash,  could  not  stom- 
ach this  creation  of  a  new  people,  and  this  attribution  of  the  origin  of 
astronomy,  which  all  the  world  thought  must  have  required  bright 
skies  and  mild  climates,  to  the  country  of  almost  perpetual  snows 
and  hazy  mountains  ;  and  he  addressed  to  Bailly  several  letters, 
written  with  all  that  levity  of  tone,  and  carelessness  about  the  truth 
or  falsehood  of  the  matter  which  characterizes  all  his  works.  He 
merely  seems  anxious  not  to  give  up  the  Brahmins,  whom  he  had 
taken  under  his  special  protection,  or  sacrifice  his  own  favorite  the- 


*  "  Histoire  de  rAstronomie  ancienne."  Par.  1775,  pp.  107,  115. 

t   Page  101. 


228 


LECTURE    THE    SEVENTH. 


ories  on  the  historical  antiquity  of  the  Indians.  "  Nothing  ever  came 
out  to  us  from  Scythia,"  he  writes,  "  except  tigers  who  have  eaten 
up  our  lambs.  Some  of  these  tigers,  it  is  true,  have  been  a  little 
astronomical,  when  they  have  gained  leisure,  after  sacking  In- 
dia. But  are  we  to  suppose  that  these  tigers  came  forth  from 
their  lairs,  with  quadrants  and  astrolabes  ?  .  .  .  Who  ever  heard  of 
any  Greek  philosopher  going  to  seek  science  in  the  country  of  Gog 
and  Magog  .'"*  In  his  answers,  Bailly  enters  fully  into  the  explana- 
tion and  grounds  of  his  theory.  It  is,  I  must  own,  almost  nauseous 
to  read  the  terms  of  fulsome  compliment  in  which  he  addresses  the 
superficial  master  of  infidelity.  "  The  Brahmins,"  he  replies  to 
these  observations,  "  would  be  indeed  proud,  if  they  knew  they  pos- 
sessed such  an  apologist.  More  enlightened  than  they  can  ever  have 
been,  you  possess  the  reputation  which  they  enjoyed  in  antiquity. 
Men  go  now  to  Ferney  as  they  used  to  Benares;  but  Pythagoras 
would  have  been  better  instructed  by  you  ;  for  the  Tacitus,  the  Eu- 
ripides, and  the  Homer  of  the  age,  is,  by  himself  worth  all  that  an- 
cient academy." — "  If  the  immortal  songs  of  the  Grecian  bard  no 
longer  existed,"  he  writes  in  another  place,  "  M.  de  Voltaire,  after 
having  described  the  combats  and  triumphs  of  the  good  Henry,  would 
have  conceived  how  Homer  wrote  the  Iliad,  and  deserved  his  fame."t 
But,  passing  over  these  disgusting  flatteries,  I  need  only  say  that,  in 
this  work,  Bailly  sums  up  and  presents  in  a  more  popular  form,  the 
arguments  produced  in  his  more  scientific  work  in  favor  of  his  prime- 
val people,  source  of  all  human  science. 

Still  he  was  not  contented  ;  and  he  undertook  the  more  formida- 
ble task,  of  verifying  mathematically  the  Indian  calculations,  and  re- 
ducing to  the  test  of  rigid  formulas,  the  astronomical  processes  and 
results  contained  in  the  statements  of  travellers  and  missionaries.  It 
would  be  foreign  to  my  plan,  and  could  hardly  be  interesting  to  you, 
to  follow  him  step  by  step  in  this  toilsome  undertaking.  I  will  con- 
tent myself,  therefore,  with  giving  you  a  slight  idea  of  his  method 
and  results. 

Three  sets  of  astronomical  tables  had  been  made  known  in  Eu- 
rope ;  one  of  these  was  manifestly  borrowed  from  another  of  the 
number,  and  therefore  Bailly  excludes  it.  The  other  two  profess  to 
have  different  dates,  the  one  1491  of  our  era,  the  other  3102  before 


*  "  Lettres  sur  I'origiue  des  sciences." — Lond.  and  Par.  1777.  p.  6. 
f  Pages  16^207, 


EARLY    HISTORY.  229 

it.  Bailly  proceeds  to  establish  that  it  was  exceedingly  improbable, 
that  the  Indians  borrowed  their  date  frona  other  nations,  because  in 
their  methods  they  differ  essentially  from  them.  He  concludes  that 
both  the  periods  must  have  been  fixed  by  actual  observation  ;  inas- 
much as  the  account  given  of  the  heaven?  at  each  is  accurate.  The 
places  of  the  sun  and  moon  are  given,  for  the  early  period,  with  a 
correctness  that  could  not  be  obtained  by  calculating  from  our  best 
tables  ;  there  is  mention  of  a  conjunction  of  all  the  planets,  and  the 
tables  of  Cassini  prove  that  such  a  conjunction  occurred  about  that 
period,  though  Venus  was  not  in  the  number.*  All  these  particulars 
which  I  have  very  unscientifically  stated,  are  apparently  established 
by  rigid  calculation,  through  the  course  of  his  work. 

Such  was  the  specious  theory  of  this  unfortunate  man.  In  his 
earlier  work,  he  had  imagined  the  scientific  researches  of  his  extinct 
nation  to  be  antediluvian,  and  supposed  the  Indians,  Chaldees,  and 
others,  to  be  the  races  who  inherited  the  broken  fragments  of  early 
science,  after  the  great  catastrophe.!  In  this,  however,  no  notice  is 
taken  of  that  hypothesis,  but  the  astronomy  of  India  is  treated  as  an 
indigenous  invention  ;  or,  at  least,  Bailly  contents  himself  with  at- 
tempting to  demonstrate  that  the  supposed  date  of  that  early  observa- 
tion in  India  must  be  correct.  It  was  not,  however,  long  before, 
among  his  own  scientific  countrymen,  he  found  an  adversary  fully 
equal  to  the  task  of  confuting  his  romantic  theory.  Delambre,  in 
his  "  History  of  Ancient  Astronomy,"  was  necessarily  led  to  treat  of 
the  supposed  observations  of  the  Hindoos  ;  and,  without  entering 
into  any  very  profound  mathematical  examination  of  the  processes 
and  fornmlas  so  extolled  by  his  fellow-academician,  laid  open,  one 
by  one,  the  inaccuracies  committed  by  him  in  the  statement  of  the 
question,  and  his  gratuitous  assumption  of  the  data  on  which  he  con- 
ducted them.  He  shows  that  there  is  no  ground  on  earth  to  admit 
the  truth  of  the  supposed  observations;  but  approves  of  the  solutions 
given  by  the  English  writers,  of  whom  I  shall  presently  speak. t 

We  may  perhaps,  allow  that  the  tone  in  which  Delambre  con- 
ducts his  confutation  of  Bailly,  is  not  such  as  would  greatly  delight 
an  admirer'of  his  dreams.     For  throughout  there  is  but  little  respect 


*  "  Trait^  de   rAsironomie   Indienne  et  Orientale."     Par.  1787,  p. 
XX.  seqq. 

t  Histoire  de  rAstronotnie,"  p.  89. 

\  Histoire  de  I'Astronomie  ancienne."     Par.  1817,  pp.  400,  eeq. 


230  LKCTURE   THE   SEVENTH. 

shown  to  the  science  or  to  the  character  of  that  philosopher ;  not 
only  the  correctness  of  his  mathematical  inductions,  but  the  fairness 
of  his  statements,  is  constantly  called  in  question.  It  was  in  our 
country  that  Bailiy  found  a  champion  to  undertake  his  defence. 
Between  the  epoch  at  which  Bailiy  wrote,  and  the  time  when  Delam- 
bre  confuted  him,  much  important  light,  as  I  have  hinted,  had  been 
thrown  on  the  question  ;  and  the  publication  of  a  valuable  collection 
of  Indian  mathematical  treatises  by  Mr.  Colebrooke,  gave  an  oppor- 
tunity to  the  Edinburgh  Review  to  exalt  the  antiquity  of  Hindoo 
science,  and  censure  the  conduct  of  Delambre.  The  occasion,  I 
think  it  must  be  owned,  was  a  strange  one  ;  for  Colebrooke's  work 
affords  strong  presumptive  grounds  for  supposing  the  comparatively 
modern  origin  of  mathematics  in  India.  For  he  gives  us,  in  his 
valuable  "  Notes  and  Illustrations  to  his  Preliminary  Discourse,"  a 
list  furnished  l)y  the  astronomers  of  Ujjayani  to  Dr.  Hunter,  of  their 
most  celebrated  astronomical  writers;  and  the  oldest  of  these  is 
Varaha-Mihira,  whom  they  place  in  the  third  century  of  the  Chris- 
tian era.  But  of  him  there  is  nothing  known,  whereas  another  as- 
tronomer of  the  same  name  is  very  celebrated,  and  him  Colebrooke 
shows  to  have  lived,  as  is  stated  in  Dr.  Hunter's  table,  about  the 
latter  end  of  the  sixth  century.  He  quotes,  it  is  true,  more  ancient 
treatises,  called  the  five  Siddhantas,  but  there  is  time  enough  for 
these  to  have  existed  and  become  old  before  his  age,  without  arriving 
at  any  very  extraordinary  antiquity.*  In  like  manner, Brahmegupta, 
one  of  the  oldest  mathematical  writers  extant,  some  of  whose  treatises 
Mr.  Colebrooke  published  in  this  collection,  cannot  be  considered 
older  than  the  seventh  century  ;  nay,  this  sagacious  and  critical 
orientalist,  after  showing  the  probabilities  in  favor  of  Aryabhatta's 
being  the  father  and  founder  of  Hindoo  algebra,  proceeds  to  establish 
his  antiquity  ;  and  concludes  that  he  flourished  "  as  far  back  as  the 
fifth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  and  perhaps  in  an  earlier  age." 
He  was  thus  nearly  contemporary  with  Diophantus ;  though  Mr. 
Colebrooke  thinks  he  was  superior  to  the  Greek  mathematician,  in 
having  methods  of  solving  complicated  equations,  which  the  other 
did  not  possess. t  These  statements  and  acknowledgments  of  so 
competent  a  judge  as  Colebrooke,  could  not  have  been  well  supposed 


*  Algebra,  with  Arithmetic  and  Mensuration,  from  the  Sanscrit." 
Lond.  1817,  pp.  xxxiii.,  xlviii.  But  see  "Bentley's  Historical  View  of 
the  Hindoo  Astronomy."  Lond.  1825,  p.  167. 

t  P.  X. 


EARLY    HISTORY.  231 

to  form  a  good  foundation  for  an  assertion  of  the  Hindoo  claims  to 
great  antiquity  in  astronomical  renown.  But  the  reviewer,  admitting 
all  these  facts,  boldly  asserts  that  we  must  by  no  means  consider 
Aryabhatta  as  the  inventor  of  his  methods,  but  admit  that  many  ages 
must  have  elapsed  between  their  first  invention  and  his  improvements.* 
Though  the  writer  confesses  that  Bailly  was  inaccurate,  from  want  of 
local  knowledge,  from  too  great  confidence  in  his  informers,  and 
from  the  spirit  of  system  which  carried  him  away,  he  still  maintains 
that  not  only  is  the  originality  of  Hindoo  science  quite  vindicated  by 
Mr.  Colebrooke's  publication,  but  that  all  now  must  confess  that 
science  to  be  only  a  wreck  of  what  flourished  in  the  Indian  peninsula 
when  the  Sanscrit  was  a  living  language,  or  perhaps,  "  some  parent 
language,  still  more  ancient,  sent  forth  those  roots  which  have  struck 
with  more  or  less  firmness  into  the  dialects  of  so  many  and  so  remote 
nations,  both  of  the  East  and  of  the  West."t  A  conclusion  which 
would  lead  us  back  far  beyond  all  reach  of  history,  and  pretty  nearly 
to  what  Bailly  would  have  desired. 

As  the  name  of  Delambre  was  mentioned  somewhat  invidiously, 
with  a  charge  of  undue  severity  upon  the  memory  of  his  brother 
academician,  the  learned  astronomer  lost  no  time  in  replying  to  the 
reasonings,  as  well  as  the  censure  of  the  reviewer  ;  and  an  opportuni- 
ty was  afforded  him  by  the  publication  of  his  work  on  the  Astronomy 
of  the  Middle  Ages.  In  his  preliminary  discourse,  he  examines  in 
detail  the  different  grounds  for  admiration  proposed  by  the  anony- 
mous critic  ;  and  concludes  that,  although  the  Indians  may  have  now 
been  shown  to  have  acquired  a  certain  degree  of  skill  in  solving 
algebraical  problems  more  remarkable  for  their  ingenuity  than  for 
their  utility,  nothing  has  been  yet  done  to  prove  them  possessed  of 
anything  approaching  to  a  correct  and  scientific  knowledge  of  as- 
tronomy, j' 

If  I  have  dwelt  at  some  length  upon  the  opinions  of  Delambre,  it 
would  not  be  fair  to  omit  the  concurrence  in  the  same  sentiments,  of 
another  celebrated  historian  of  mathematical  science,  who  wrote  too 
w  hile  his  country  was  still  more  under  the  influence  of  that  philoso- 
phical school  to  which  Bailly  had  unfortunately  attached  himself  I 
allude  to  Montucla  j  who  with  the  utmost  impartiality  addresses  him- 

*  Edinb.  Rev.  vol.  xxix.  p.  143. 

t  P.  H53. 

1  "  Histoire  de  I'Astronomie  du  Moyeii  Age."     Par.  1819,  p.  x.vxvii. 


232  LECTURE  THE  SEVENTH. 

self  to  the  task  of  examining  the  grounds  assigned  by  Bailly  for  the 
excessive  antiquity  of  the  Hindoo  astronomy.  He  analyzes,  for  in- 
stance, the  great  period  of  the  Cali-Yuga,  consisting  of  4,320,000 
years,  and  finds  that  if  divided  by  24,000.  it  gives  as  quotient  180; 
which  gives  rise  to  a  suspicion  that  this  period  is  only  the  half  of 
another  composing  the  product  of  24,000  by  360.  Now,  as  the 
Arabs  consider  24,000  years  the  term  in  which  the  fixed  stars,  by 
their  progressive  movement,  would  make  one  complete  revolution,  it 
would  appear  that  having  borrowed  this  idea  from  them,  the  Indians 
made  their  great  period  equivalent  to  a  year  of  300  days,  the  primi- 
tive length  of  the  year,  each  day  of  which  consists  of  one  complete 
revolution  of  the  heavens.  This  he  confirms  from  similar  calcula- 
tions among  the  Arabs  ;  and  this,  among  others,  is  a  reason  for  his 
concluding  that,  so  far  from  Indian  astronomy  boasting  such  wonder- 
ful antiquity  as  his  ill-fated  countryman  had  imagined,  it  was  borrow- 
ed from  the  inhabitants  of  western  Asia.* 

But  it  is  fair  to  turn  to  the  labors  of  our  countrymen  in  this 
branch  of  astronomical  history.  Mr.  Davis  was  the  first,  as  Cole- 
brooke  has  remarked,  to  give  an  accurate  account  of  Hindoo  as- 
tronomy from  native  treatises.  Montucla  had  observed  that  the 
Surya  Siddhanta,  an  astronomical  work  supposed  to  have  been  in- 
spired, would  be  a  precious  acquisition  ;  "  but  who,"  he  adds,  "  will 
ever  force  these  mysterious  men  to  communicate  it  ?"t  It  is  precise- 
ly from  this  very  work  that  Mr.  Davis  drew  his  materials ;  and  he 
states  that  he  found  no  jealousy  on  the  part  of  the  Brahmins  in  either 
communicating  the  book,  or  assisting  to  explain  it.  The  object  of 
his  researches  was  merely  to  discover  the  processes  or  formulas  by 
which  the  Hindoos  calculate  their  eclipses ;  and  thus  far  he  may  ap- 
pear to  throw  little  or  no  light  upon  the  subject  of  our  inquiry.  But 
still  it  is  manifest,  from  his  preliminary  remarks,  that  he  considers 
the  remote  periods  assumed  by  the  Hindoos  as  the  bases  or  points  of 
departure  for  their  calculations,  to  have  been  assumed  arbitrarily  by 
a  retrograde  computation,  and  not  selected,  as  Bailly  fancied,  by 
actual  observation.! 

Mr.  Bentley,  however,  must  be  acknowledged  to  have  most 
earnestly  and   most   successfully  studied   this  and  other  important 


*  "  Histoire  des  Math^matiques."     Par.  n.  vii.  tom.  i.  p.  429. 

t  P.  443. 

X  "  Asiatic  Researches,"  vol.  ii.  p.  228,  ed.  Calcutta. 


EARLY    HI=TORY.  ^33 

works  of  Indian  astronomy,  with  a  view  to  determine  tlie  true  an- 
tiquity of  tlie  science  :  and  with  his  researches,  which  extend  over  a 
long  period  of  time,  I  shall  close  this  portion  of  my  task.  His  first 
essay  upon  this  subject  appeared  in  the  sixth  volume  of  ihe  "  Asiatic 
Researches."  It  may  be  divided  into  two  parts.  In  the  first,  he 
€xamines  the  astronomical  methods  of  the  Indians,  and  shows  how 
easily  a  European  unacquainted  with  them  might  fall  into  grievous 
error  in  assigning  their  date.  He  then  proceeds  to  investigate  the 
age  of  the  Surya  Siddhanta,  to  which  the  Brahmins  modestly  give  an 
age  of  sundry  millions  of  years.  "  The  most  correct  and  certain 
mode  of  investigating  the  antiquity  of  Hindoo  astronomical  works," 
he  writes,  "is  by  comparing  the  positions  and  motions  of  the  planets 
computed  from  them,  with  those  deduced  from  accurate  European 
tables.  For,  it  must  be  obvious,  that  every  astronomer,  let  the  princi- 
ple of  his  system  be  what  it  will,  whether  real  or  artificial,  must  en- 
deavor to  give  the  true  position  of  the  planets  in  his  own  time  ;  or,  at 
least,  as  near  as  he  can,  or  the  nature  of  his  system  will  permit; 
otherwise  his  labor  will  be  totally  useless.  Therefore,  having  the 
positions  and  motions  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  planets,  at  any  proposed 
instant  of  time,  given  by  computation  from  any  original  Hindoo 
system;  and  having  also  their  positions  and  motions  deduced  from 
correct  European  tables  for  the  same  instant ;  we  can  from  them  de- 
termine the  points  of  time  back,  when  their  respective  positions  were 
precisely  the  same  in  both."*  Mr.  Bentley  proceeds  to  apply  this 
simple  rule.  He  takes  his  data,  on  the  one  side,  from  the  Indian 
Treatise,  and  on  the  other  from  Lalande's  Tables ;  and  by  finding 
the  number  of  years  requisite  to  give  the  erroneous  results  deducible 
from  the  former,  he  discovers  diflferent  periods  of  600,  700,  and  800 
years,  as  having  elapsed  from  the  time  it  was  composed.  But  not 
so  content,  Mr.  Bentley  gives  strong  reasons  to  conclude  that  its  au- 
thor was  Varaha,  whose  disciple,  Sotanund,  is  known  to  have  lived 
about  700  years  ago,  a  period  corresponding  with  the  mean  given  by 
the  deductions  from  the  Surya  Siddhanta  itself.t 

The  critical  periodical,  which  I  before  mentioned,  as  having  so 
earnestly  defended  Bailly's  fanciful  theories,  was  thereby  only  follow- 
ing up  the  views  it  had  taken  in  its  first  number,  of  Mr.  Bentley's 
labors.     To  the  severe  and  studied  attack  which  it  made  upon  the 

*  P.  564. 

t  P.  573.  This,  however,  lias  been  denied  by  Mr.  Coiebrooke,  in 
his  "Algebra." 

30 


234  LECTURE    THE    SEVENTH. 

essay  I  have  ([noted,  he  answered  in  a  strong  and  clear   manner,  in 
the  eighth  volume  of  the  "  Researches  ;"*  but  I  pass  over  this  paper, 
because  he  has  since  given  a  more  enlarged  and  corrected,  and  far 
more  valuable  explanation  of  his  views  ;  and  this  I  proceed  to  men- 
tion.    In   the  very  year  that   Mr.  Bentley  published  his  "Historical 
view  of  the  Hindoo  Astronomy,"  the  learned  Ideler  at  Berlin,  com- 
plained that  no  one  had  as  yet   been  found,  who  united  together  a 
competent  knowledge  of  the  Sanscrit  language  and  of  astronomy.! 
In  this  instance,  however,  these  two  acquirements  seem  to  have  been 
combined  with  that  firmness  of  purpose,  and  eagerness  of  inquiry, 
which  were  necessary  for  directing  them  in  their  troublesome  under- 
taking ;  and  probably,  the  severity  wherewith  their  possessor  had 
been  treated   for  his  first  attempt,  nerved  him  to  the  task,  and  ma- 
terially forwarded  the  researches  which  they  were  intended  to  impede. 
In  this  work,  Mr.  Bentley,  after  a  preface,  in  which  he  confirms 
his  former  assertions  regarding  the  Surya  Siddhanta  by  new  calcula- 
tions, treats  systematically  of  the  ditTerent  epochs  into  which  Hindoo 
astronomy  may  be  divided.     He  establishes  eight  distinct  ages  or 
periods  in  its  history,  each  of  which  he  endeavors  to  define  and  fix 
by  astronomical  data.     The  first  operation  in  any  system  of  astrono- 
my, must  be  the  division  of  the  heavens  ;  without  which  all  astrono- 
mical determinations  would  be  impracticable.     The  earliest  Indian 
division  is  into  lunar  mansions,  formerly  28,  and  now  27  in  number. 
While  history  places  this  operation  at  a  period  between    1528  and 
1375  B.  c,  the  astronomical  data  mentioned  in  conjunction  with  it, 
exactly  coincide.     For   the   place   of  the  equinoxial    and   solstitial 
poirits,  gives  the  year  1426  u.  c. ;  and  the  singular  mythology  of  the 
operation,  which  states  the  planets  to  have   been  born  from  different 
daughters  of  Daksha,  when  reduced  to  the  astronomical  language  of 
occultations  of  the  moon  in  the  respective  lunar  mansions,  gives  pre- 
cisely the  same  period,  1425  b.  c.|     Now,  if  this  calculation  is  cor- 
rect, we  have  undoubtedly  a  date   for  the  preliminary  operation  of 
Hindoo  astronomy,  quite  within  the  range  of  probability.     The  next 
observation  on  record,  Mr.  Bentley  places  in   1881  before  the  Chris- 
tian era:  when  the  sun  and   moon  were  in  conjunction,  and  the  as- 
tronomers found  that  the  colures  had  fallen  back  3°  20'  from  their  po- 

*  Pp.  193,  el  seqq. 

t  '•  llaudliucli  dor  IMailieuiaiibcIieii  and  'j'eclinisclicn  Chrouologie." 
lie  din,  1825,  vol.  i.  p.  5. 
i  P.  4. 


EARLY    HISTORY.  *235 

sition  at  the  former  observation.  This  consists  of  the  giving  proper 
names  to  the  months;  the  conditions  of  which  decide  the  period. 

The  next  important  era,  which  is  decided  by  the  astronomical 
data  it  supposes,  is  the  age  of  Rama,  whose  exploits  form  the  noblest 
theme  of  Indian  poetry.  "  The  Ramayuna,"  or  epic  poem  which 
celebrates  him,  gives  a  minute  description  of  the  heavens  at  his  birth, 
and  upon  his  reaching  his  twenty-tirst  year  ;  and  the  result  is,  that 
such  a  state  could  only  have  occurred  about  961  years  before  Christ.* 
There  is,  too,  I  may  remark,  in  his  history,  a  passage  minutely  cor- 
responding with  the  battle  of  the  gods  and  giants  in  Greek  mythology. 

I  will  not  follow  Mr.  Bentley  through  the  later  stages  of  his 
course  ;  because  all  that  we  can  possibly  desire  is  gained  in  the  first. 
It  matters  little  to  us,  that  the  Hindoos  should  place  the  ages  of  their 
astronomers  back  in  absurd  antiquity ;  that  Garga  and  Parasara 
should  be  said  by  them  to  have  lived  and  written  3100  years  before 
Christ ;  so  long  as  it  can  be  proved  that  the  science,  in  which  they 
were  manifestly  proficients,  did  not  commence  its  preliminary  obser- 
vations till  many  centuries  later.  But  it  is  just  to  say,  that  the 
Vasishta  Siddhanta,  and  the  Surya  Siddhanta,  which  the  Hindoos 
used  to  date  at  some  million  or  two  of  years  back,  have  been  brought 
down  by  his  computations,  to  the  tenth  or  eleventh  century  of  the 
Christian  era. 

There  is  one  Indian  legend  of  consideiable  importance,  the  age 
of  which  Mr.  Bentley  endeavors  to  decide  by  astronomical  computa- 
tion ;  that  is  the  story  of  Krishna,  the  Indian  Apollo.  In  native  le- 
gends he  is  represented  as  an  Avatar,  or  incarnation  of  the  Divinity  ; 
at  his  birth,  choirs  of  Devatas  sung  hymns  of  praise,  while  shepherds 
surrounded  his  cradle  ;  it  was  necessary  to  conceal  his  birth  from  the 
tyrant  Cansa,  to  whom  it  had  been  foretold  that  the  infant  should 
destroy  him.  The  child  escaped,  with  his  parents,  beyond  the  coast 
of  Yamouna.  For  a  time  he  lived  in  obscurity  ;  but  then  commen- 
ced a  public  life,  distinguished  for  prowess  and  beneficence  ;  he  slew 
tyrants  and  protected  the  poor  ;  he  washed  the  feet  of  the  Brahmins, 
and  preached  the  most  perfect  doctrine ;  but  at  length  the  power  of 
his  enemies  prevailed,  he  was  nailed,  according  to  one  account,  to  a 
tree  by  an  arrow,  and  foretold  before  dying  the  miseries  which  would 
take  place  in  the  Cali  Yuga,  or  wicked  age  of  the  world,  thirty-six 

*  P.  15. 


236  LECTURE  THE  SEVENTH. 

years  after  his  death.*  Can  we  be  surprised  that  the  enemies  of 
Christianity  should  hvive  seized  upon  this  legend  as  containing  the 
original  of  our  gospel  history  ?  The  names  Christ  and  Krishna, 
perverted  by  some  of  them  into  Kristna,  were  pronounced  identical, 
and  the  numerous  parallelisms  between  their  histories  declared  too 
clearly  defined  to  permit  any  doubt  respecting  their  being  one  and 
the  same  individual. t  The  ease  with  which  the  first  explorers  of 
Indian  letters  allowed  themselves  to  be  borne  away  by  their  enthu- 
siasm, towards  ascribing  extravagant  antiquity  to  every  thing  they 
found,  came  in  here  to  aid  these  bold  assertions.  For  Sir  W. 
Jones,  who  was  considered  an  infallible  authority  in  all  such  matters, 
and  whose  judgment  certainly  deserves  due  consideration,  had  pro- 
nounced it  quite  certain  "  that  the  name  of  Krishna,  and  the  general 
outline  of  his  history,  were  long  anterior  to  the  lifeof  our  Saviour,  and 
probably  to  the  time  of  Homer."  Hence,  acknowledging  the  im- 
possibility of  so  many  casual  coincidences,  in  the  two  lives  or  his- 
tories, he  conjectures  that  the  points  of  minute  resemblance  were 
engrafted,  in  later  times,  from  spurious  gospels,  upon  the  original 
legend. I  Maurice,  in  like  manner,  admits  its  antiquity,  and  meets 
its  difficulties  in  a  manner  still  less  qualified  to  assist  an  adversary  of 
Christianity,  by  considering  it  a  remnant  of  an  ancient,  primeval  tra- 
dition, concerning  the  future  coming  of  a  Redeemer,  who  was  to  be 
truly  an  Avatar,  or  incarnation  of  the  Deity.§ 

Now,  it  is  to  the  examination  of  the  age  when  this  god-like  hero 
lived,  that  Mr.  Bentley  has  applied  astronomical  calculation.  For  he 
diligently  sought  out,  in  the  notices  regarding  him,  some  data  upon 
which  to  base  an  inquiry  into  the  era  of  his  life  ;  and  after  finding  all 
these  too  scanty,  though  it  was  stated  that  the  celebrated  astrono- 
mer, Garga,  assisted  at  his  birth,  and  described  the  state  of  the  heav- 
ens at  that  interesting  moment,  he  was  fortunate  enough  to  procure 
the  Jcmampatra  of  Krishna,  which  contains  the  position  of  the  planets 
at  the  time  of  his  birth.  From  computation,  grounded  upon  Europe- 
an tables,   reduced  to  the  meridian  of  Ujein,   it  appears  that  the 


*  See  this  legend  in  Paulinus,  a  S.  Bartliolonieeo  "  Systeina  Brah- 
niinicum."  Rome,  1802,  [)|).  14(j.  seqq.  Creuzer's  "Religions  de  I'Anti- 
quit6,"  par  Guigniaiit.     Tom.  i.     Par.  J825,  p.  205. 

t  "  Volney's  Rtiiii.s,  or  Meditations  on  the  Revolutions  of  Empires.'* 
Pat:  1820,  p.  2G7. 

J  "  Asiatic  Researc.Ius,"  vol.  i.  p.  273. 

§  "  History  of  Hindooslan,"  LonJ.  1824,  vol.  ii.  p.  225. 


EARLY    HISTORY.  237 

heavens  can  only  have  been  as  there  described  on  the  7th  of  August, 
A.  D.  600.*  Mr.  Bentley  therefore  concludes  that  this  legend  was  an 
artful  imitation  of  Christianity,  framed  by  the  Brahmins  for  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  withholding  the  natives  from  embracing  the  new 
religion,  which  had  begun  to  penetrate  to  the  uttermost  bounds  of  the 
East. 

It  may  probably  happen  that  many  will  not  agree  with  this  writer 
in  some  of  his  opinions  ;  and  I  must  say  that,  without  more  positive 
proof,  I  cannot  go  to  the  lengths  he  does  upon  many  particular  points. 
But,  still,  to  his  demonstration  of  the  modern  date  assignable  to 
Indian  observations,  and  Hindoo  astronomical  works,  he  certainly 
has  the  suffrages  of  the  best  modern  mathematicians.  Not  to  men- 
tion Delambre,  who  considered  his  paper  on  the  age  of  the  Surya 
Siddhanta  as  quite  satisfactory,  we  have  the  opinion  of  Schaubach, 
who  maintains  all  the  knowledge  possessed  by  the  Hindoos,  in  astro- 
nomy, to  be  derived  from  the  Arabs,  and,  consequently,  to  belong 
rather  to  modern,  than  to  ancient,  science. t  Laplace,  whose  name 
will  surely  be  respected  by  every  astronomer  of  modern  times,  far 
beyond  that  of  the  over-rated  Bailly,  whose  friend  and  warm  admirer 
he  was,  thus  expresses  himself  upon  this  matter.  "  The  origin  of 
astronomy  in  Persia  and  India  is  lost,  as  among  all  other  nations,  in 
the  darkness  of  their  ancient  history.  The  Indian  tables  suppose  a 
very  advanced  state  of  astronomy  ;  but  there  is  every  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  they  can  claim  no  very  high  antiquity.  Herein  I  differ, 
with  pain,  from  an  illustrious  and  unfortunate  friend."  This  ex- 
pression clearly  shows,  that  it  was  from  no  leaning  towards  our 
cause  that  Laplace  decided  against  the  claims  of  Sanscrit  astronomy. 
After  these  remarks,  he  proceeds  to  a  detailed  examination  of  the 
point,  which,  I  am  sure  I  have  quite  often  enough  repeated,  whether 
the  observations  placed  by  the  Indian  tables,  as  bases  for  their  cal- 
culations, 1491  and  3102  years  before  the  Christian  era,  were  actu- 
ally ever  made ;  and  concludes  that  they  were  not,  and  that  the 
tables,  were  not  grounded  upon  any  true  observation,  because  the 
conjunctions  which  they  suppose  cannot  have  taken  place.  "  The 
same  results,"  he  concludes,  "  are  obtained  from  the  mean  motions 
assigned  by  them  to  the  moon,  in  reference  to  its  perigee,  its  nodes, 
and  the  sun  ;  which,  being  more  accelerated  than  they  are  according 

*  P.  111. 

t  In  the  Baron  de  Zach's  "  Monatliche  Correspondenz,"  Feb,  and 
March  1813. 


ii38  LECTURE    THE    SEVENTH. 

to  Ptolemy,  indicate  that  they  are  posterior  to  that  astronomer.  For 
we  know  from  the  theory  of  universal  gravitation,  that  these  three 
movements  have  been  accelerated  for  a  great  number  of  years.  Thus 
the  results  of  this  theory,  so  important  for  lunar  astronomy,  serve  also 
to  elucidate  chronology."*  To  these  testimonies,  we  may  add  that 
of  Dr.  Maskelyne,  personally  communicated  to  Mr.  Bentley,t  of 
Heeren,t  Cuvier,§  and  Klaproth,  who  thus  writes.  "  Les  tables  as- 
tronomiques  des  Hindous,  auxquelles  on  avait  attribue  une  antiquite 
prodigieuse,  ont  ete  construites  dans  le  septieme  siecle  de  I'ere  vul- 
gaire,  et  ont  ete  posterieurement  reportees  par  des  calculs  a  une 
epoque  anterieure."|| 

After  these  confirmatory  authorities,  in  addition  to  the  opinions 
of  the  older  French  mathematicians  before  cited,  we  may  reasonably 
doubt  whether  any  other  champion  will  arise  to  defend  the  excessive 
antiquity  of  Indian  astronomical  science.  It  will  be  difficult,  at 
any  rate,  to  reinstate  its  pretensions  in  such  a  position,  as  shall  threat- 
en a  conflict  with  the  Mosaic  chronology.  There  are  other  branch- 
es of  Indian  learning,  which  must  appear  to  you  deserving  of  equal 
investigation,  such  as  the  age  of  the  sacred  and  philosophical  writings 
to  which  such  absurd  antiquity  was  attributed,  by  some  men,  a  few 
years  back  ;  but  as  it  is  my  intention,  in  pursuance  of  my  promise,  to 
dedicate  a  special  discourse  to  Oriental  Literature,  I  shall  reserve  to 
it,  what  appears  to  me  most  important  on  this  head.  I  will,  therefore, 
pass  from  the  astronomy  to  the  history  of  the  Indians,  and  see  if  it 
can,  any  more  than  the  other,  pretend  to  rival  in  age  the  records  of 
the  Pentateuch. 

It  was,  indeed,  only  to  be  expected  that  the  national  ambition, 
which  led  to  extravagance  in  fixing  an  epoch  for  the  rise  of  science, 
should  have  suggested  a  corresponding  remoteness  of  time,  for  the 
governments  under  which  it  flourished.  One  fiction  necessarily  sup- 
posed the  other  ;  and  when  Oriental  nations  set  about  giving  a  my- 
thological era  to  their  origin  and  early  history,  they  do  not  stop  at 

*  "Exposition  du  Systeme  du  Monde,"  6th  ed.  Bruxelles,  1827, 
p.  427. 

t  "  Preface,"  p.  xxv. 

\  "  Ideen  liber  die  Politik,  Handel  uud  Verkehr  der  alten  Volker," 
4th  ed.  1  Til.  3  Abtheil,  p.  J  42. 

§  "  Cuvier,  Discours,  prelim."  8vo.  Par.  1825,  p.  238. 

n  "  M^molres  relatifs  A  I'Asie,"  Par.  1824,  p.  397. 


EARLY    HISTORY.  239 

trifles,  or  allow  themselves  to  be  restrained  by  the  European  rule  of 
attending  to  probabilities.  A  mllion  of  years  are  as  soon  invented 
as  a  thousand  ;  very  few  kings  are  required  to  fill  them  with  their 
reigns,  if  you  give  them  a  gross  of  centuries  a-piece  ;  and  your  read- 
ers will  believe  it  all,  if  you  can  only  get  them  over  the  first  step,  that 
of  believing  the  kings  to  have  been  the  descendants  of  the  sun  and 
moon,  or  some  such  unearthly  progenitors.  We  cannot,  indeed,  help 
pitying  those  who  have  been  deceived  into  the  belief  of  such  absurd- 
ities ;  but  I  think  we  must  also  be  inclined  to  extend  our  compas- 
sion to  those  who  first  attempted  to  analyze  the  mass  of  fable  pre- 
sented to  us  by  Indian  history,  and  to  separate  the  few  grains  of  truth 
which  lay  concealed  in  this  Augean  confusion. 

Sir  W.  Jones  led  the  way  in  this,  as  in  most  branches  of  Indian 
research.  He  took,  for  the  ground-work  of  his  inquiries,  the  genea- 
logical list  of  kings,  extracted  from  the  Puranas,  by  the  pundit 
Rhadacanta;  and  sat  down  to  the  task  of  unravelling  their  history, 
with  a  determination  not  to  be  swayed  by  any  consideration,  however 
sacred,  towards  an  unfair  decision.  "  Attached,"  he  writes,  "  to  no 
system,  and  as  much  disposed  to  reject  the  Mosaic  history,  if  it  be 
proved  erroneous,  as  to  believe  it,  if  it  be  confirmed  by  sound  rea- 
soning, from  indubitable  evidence,  I  proceed  to  lay  before  you  a  con- 
cise account  of  Indian  Chronology,  extracted  from  Sanscrit  books."* 
He  soon,  however,  discovered  that  he  had  to  deal  with  the  high-born 
races  before  alluded  to,  which  claimed  exemption  from  all  the  laws 
which  limit  the  duration  of  mortal  dynasties.  Yet,  nothing  daunted 
by  this  appalling  discovery,  which  would  have  driven  a  less  enthusi- 
astic inquirer  to  despair,  he  attempts  to  account  for  these  absurdities, 
and  to  reconcile  all  contradiction.  He  draws  up  tables  of  kings  and 
assigns  dates  to  them,  according  to  the  most  plausible  conjectures  he 
can  devise.  The  result  of  these  very  unsatisfactory  labors,  you  shall 
hear  in  his  own  words. — "  Thus,"  he  concludes,  "have  we  given  a 
sketch  of  Indian  history,  through  the  longest  period  fairly  assignable 
to  it ;  and  have  traced  the  foundation  of  the  Indian  empire  above 
3800  years  from  the  present  tirae.t"  Taking,  therefore,  even  from 
a  most  prejudiced  investigator,  the  extent  to  which  the  annals  of  Hin- 
doostan  can  possibly  be   stretched,  with  any  regard  to  plausibility, 


*  "On  tlie  Chronology  of  the   Hindoos. — Asiatic  Researches,"  vol. 
ii.  p.  11. 

t   Page  145. 


240  LECTURE  THE  SEVENTH. 

we  have  the  establishment  of  a  government  in  that  country  no  earlier 
than  'iOOO  years  before  Christ,  the  age  of  Abraham,  when  the  book 
of  Genesis  represents  Egypt  as  possessing  an  established  dynasty, 
and  commerce  and  literature  already  flourishing  in  Phenicia. 

Sir  W.  Jones  was  followed  by  Mr.  Wilfort,  who  endeavored  to  re- 
duce, to  something  like  order,  the  dynasties  of  Maghada,  given  in 
the  Puranas.*  Hamilton  succeeded  him  in  the  same  course  ;t  but 
both  those  patient  investigators  found  themselves  checked  at  every 
step  by  wilful  misrepresentations  or  blundering  contradictions.  The 
first  of  these  writers  is  an  unfortunate  example  of  the  extent  to  which 
pundits  will  carry  their  impositions,  and  consequently,  aproof  of  how 
far  we  are  to  trust  them  in  those  passages  of  their  books  which  would 
carry  us  back  to  unreasonable  antiquity.  For  Mr.  Wilfort  found 
that  a  most  confidential  man,  employed  by  him  at  considerable  ex- 
pense, to  assist  him  in  his  labors,  did  not  hesitate  to  erase  and  alter 
passages  in  his  most  sacred  books ;  and  even  when  he  found  that  the 
originals  would  have  to  be  collated  to  verify  his  extracts,  went  so  far 
as  to  compose  thousands  of  verses  to  screen  himself  from  discovery. | 
Mr.  Wilfort  found,  in  reference  to  our  subject,  that  these  holy  men 
of  India  had  no  scruple  about  inventing  names,  to  insert  between 
those  of  mote  celebrated  heroes,  and  defended  their  conduct  on  the 
ground  that  such  had  been  the  practice  of  their  predecessors.  Now, 
after  all  due  allowances  and  abatements  have  been  made,  we  shall 
find  but  sorry  materials  left  wherewith  to  construct  any  certain,  or 
even  probable  history.  For,  the  two  authors  I  have  mentioned,  have 
only,  in  the  end,  produced  a  series  of  personages,  for  whose  real  ex- 
istence we  have  no  better  authority  than  poems  and  mythologies. 

**  In  that  case,"  says  a  sagacious  writer,  who,  however,  is  rather 
inclined  to  overrate  than  to  depress  the  antiquity  of  Hindoo  literature, 
"  they  are  of  no  more  authority  than  the  generations  of  heroes  and 
kings  among  the  Helleni ;  and  the  tables,  so  published,  hold  the 
the  same  rank  in  Indian  mythology,  which  those  of  Apollodorus  do  in 
the  Grecian.  We  cannot  expect  to  find  in  them  any  critical  or 
chronological  history ;  it  is  one  by  poets  composed,  and  by  poets 
preserved  ;  and,  therefore,  in  this  respect  a  poetical  history,  without 


*  "On  the  kings  of  theMaghada, — Asiatic  Researches,"  vol.  ix.  p.  82. 

f  "  Genealogies  of  the  Hindoos   extracted  from  their  sacred  writ- 
ings." Edinb.  1819. 

I  "  Asiat.  Res."  vol.  viii.  p.  250. 


EARLY    HISTORY.  241 

being,  on  that  account,  entirely  a  fictitious  history."*  "  The  chro- 
nology and  history  of  the  Hindoos/'  writes  another,  "  are  in  general 
as  poetical  and  ideal  as  their  geography.  In  this  people,  the  imag- 
ination prevails  over  every  other  faculty."!  In  fact,  Klaproth  pla- 
ces the  commencement  of  true  chronological  history  in  India  in  the 
twelfth  century  of  our  era.  J 

Heeren,  however,  has  taken  considerable  pains  to  trace  the  Hin- 
doos back  to  their  earliest  institutions,  and  reconstruct  their  earliest 
political  state.  He  enters  at  length  into  proofs  that  the  caste  of 
Brahmins  are  a  different  nation  or  tribe  from  the  inhabitants  of  the 
peninsula,  and  follows  their  march  from  their  supposed  mountain- 
seats  in  the  north,  along  a  line  marked  by  temples  to  the  south.  He 
cites  the  authority  of  travellers  to  prove  that  they  are  of  a  lighter  com- 
plexion than  men  of  the  other  castes;  an  assertion  which,  you  will 
remember,  is  at  variance  with  the  observations  of  other  travellers, 
whom  I  quoted  to  you,  in  treating  of  the  varieties  in  the  human  spe- 
cies. However,  I  do  not  see  any  strong  objection  to  this  hypothesis, 
which  alone  seems  to  account  for  the  absolute  sway  of  the  Brahmins 
over  the  bulk  of  the  nation. §  And,  after  all,  though  this  supposes  a 
very  remote  period,  (for  the  oldest  accounts  of  India  show  this  system 
to  have  been  firmly  grounded  in  their  times,)  it  does  not  lead  us  to 
any  definite  result. 

The  war  between  the  Coros  and  Pandos,  the  Greeks  and  Trojans 
ef  Sanscrit  poetry,  appears  to  him  to  afford,  in  its  historical  basis,  ev- 
idence of  a  very  early  political  organization  in  the  regions  of  the 
Ganges.  But  so  far,  again,  we  have  only  great  antiquity — no  deci- 
sive chronological  epoch.  And  in  reference  to  this  event,  it  is  con- 
sistent to  remark,  that  it  is  so  essentially  connected  with  the  his- 
tory of  Krishna,  that  if  Mr.  Bentley's  theory  regarding  this  be  correct, 
the  other  must  share  its  fate,  and  be  reckoned  a  modern  invention. 

However,  Heeren  applies  himself  patiently  to  the  task  of  arranging 
and  reconciling  the  various  fragments  which  remain  of  the  early  an- 
nals;  he  endeavors  to  discover  what  were  the  earliest  states,  and 


*  "  Es  ist  eine  von  Dichtern  behandelte,  und  durch  Dichter  erhal- 
tene  (Geschichte  ;)  also  in  diesem  Sinne  eine  Dichter-Gescliichte,  ohne 
das  sie  deshalb  eine  ganzlich  erdichte  Geschichte  zu  seyn  braucht." — 
Heeren,  ubi  sup.  p.  242. 

i  "Guigniaut  on  Creuzer,"  ubi  sup.  torn.  i.  2de  partie,  p.  585. 

I  Ubi  sup.  p.  412.  ^  Ubi  sup.  p.  357. 

31 


242  LECTURE  THE  SEVENTH. 

the  contemporary  dynasties  which  possessed  them  ;  but  the  results  at 
which  he  arrives,  after  his  long  investigation,  through  which  I  have 
no  wish  to  lead  you,  is  such  as  need  not  alarm  the  most  timid  believ- 
er. "  From  all  the  foregoing  considerations,"  he  writes,  "  we  may 
conclude  the  region  of  the  Ganges  to  have  been  the  seat  of  consider- 
able kingdoms  and  flourishing  cities,  many  centuries,  probably  even 
2000  years,  before  Christ."*  Such,  then,  are  his  conclusions.  In- 
stead of  the  six  thousand  years  before  Alexander,  attributed  by  some 
writers,  on  the  credit  of  Arrian,  or  the  millions  deduced  from  the  fa- 
bles of  the  Brahmins,  we  have,  as  Jones  and  others  had  conjectured, 
the  age  of  Abraham,  as  the  earliest  historical  epoch  of  an  organized 
community  in  India. 

After  having  thus,  and  at  some  length,  carried  you  through  the 
history  of  Indian  chronology  during  the  last  forty  years,  it  would  be 
both  a  grievous  omission,  and  a  violence  to  my  feelings,  to  pass  over 
without  due  notice  the  labors  of  one,  whom  I  have  the  honor  to 
count  among  my  audience,  and  whose  presence  it  might  be  thought 
should  have  made  me  shrink  from  speaking  on  researches  which  he 
may  be  said  to  have  completed.  I  am  sure  that  no  one  can  peruse 
the  two  splendid  volumes  on  the  "  Annals  and  Antiquities  of  Rajas- 
than,"t  without  feeling  that  their  author  has  been  able  to  bring  to  re- 
searches apparently  exhausted,  a  stock  at  once  of  new  materials  and 
of  superior  sagacity,  by  which  he  has  thrown  considerable  light,  not 
only  upon  the  subject  which  occupies  us  now,  but  likewise  on 
those  which  have  preceded  it.  And  if  we  descend  to  the  later  peri- 
ods of  history,  he  has  certainly  been  sufficiently  fortunate  to  find  a 
vast  unoccupied  tract  to  explore,  in  the  annals  of  those  States  which 
he  has  been  the  first  to  describe.  He  has  thus  been  able  to  combine, 
what  few  discoverers  before  him  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  unite, 
new  events  with  a  new  field,  the  varied  drama  of  a  history  hardly 
known,  with  a  theatre  decked  out  in  the  most  gorgeous  scenery 
which  nature  can  give,  and  with  the  most  sumptuous  monuments 
that  eastern  art  could  add.  Whether  we  consider  the  geographical, 
the  historical,  or  the  artistic  additions  to  our  knowledge  of  India 
communicated  in  this  work,  or  the  interest  of  the  personal  narrative 

*  Page  272. 

t  By  Lieut.  Col.  James  Tod,  LonJ.  vol.  i.  1829,  vol.  ii.  1832. 
Since  these  lectiircs  were  delivered,  death  has  robbed  our  literature  of 
this  learned,  diligent  and  atniable  man. 


EARLY    HISTORY.  243 

it  contains,  we  may  safely,  I  think,  rank  it  among  the  most  valuable, 
as  well  as  among  the  most  beautiful  works  upon  eastern  literature. 

Colonel  Tod  has  certainly  gone  further  than  any  of  his  predeces- 
sors in  correcting  and  arranging  the  lists  of  Indian  dynasties.  He 
shows  that  there  is  a  general  conformity  between  the  genealogies 
produced  by  Jones,  Bentley  and  Wilfort,  and  such  as  he  himself  had 
collected  from  different  sources  ;  and  as  there  is  sufficient  discrepan- 
cy among  them  to  warrant  their  being  derived  from  various  originals, 
he  concludes  not  improbably,  that  they  have  some  foundation  in  truth. 
The  two  principal  races,  as  I  before  observed,  are  those  of  the  Sun 
and  Moon  :  and  it  is  remarkable  that  the  number  of  princes  in  the 
two  lines,  through  the  entire  descent,  preserves  a  tolerable  proportion. 
Now,  assuming  Boodha  to  be,  what  seems  not  unlikely,  the  regene- 
rator of  mankind  after  the  deluge,  as  he  is  the  beginning  of  the  lunar 
line  of  princes,  we  should  have,  according  to  the  genealogical  tables, 
"fifty-five  princes  from  Boodha  to  Crishna  and  Youdishtra  ;"  (I  quote 
Colonel  Tod's  own  words,)  "and,  admitting  an  average  of  twenty 
years  for  each  reign,  a  period  of  eleven  hundred  years;  which  being 
added  to  a  like  period  calculated  from  thence  to  Vicramaditya,  who 
reigned  fifty-six  years  before  Christ,  I  venture  to  place  the  establish- 
ment in  India  Proper  of  these  two  grand  races,  distinctively  called 
those  of  Soorya  and  Chandra,  at  about  2,256  years  before  the  Chris- 
tian era,  at  which  period,  though  somewhat  later,  the  Egyptian,  Chi- 
nese and  Assyrian  monarchies  are  generally  stated  to  have  been 
established,  and  about  a  century  and  a  half  after  that  great  event, 
the  Flood."*  Thus  far,  certainly,  there  is  nothing  to  excite  a  mo- 
ment's uneasiness  ;  and  if  we  take  the  chronology  of  the  Septuagint, 
which  many  moderns  are  disposed  to  follow,  we  have  even  an  ampler 
period  between  that  scourge,  and  the  epoch  here  allotted  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  these  royal  houses. 

What  may  serve  to  confirm  this  calculation,  is  the  uniformity  of 
other  results  obtained  by  a  similar  process. 

But  the  most  original,  and  doubtless  most  valuable  of  Colonel 
Tod's  discoveries  in  the  Hindoo  annals,  consist  in  the  historical  con- 
nexions which  he  seems  clearly  to  have  established  between  the  early 
Indians  and  those  tribes  toward  the  West,  which,  we  before  saw,  exhib- 
ited a  common  origin,  through  the  evidences  of  comparative  philolo- 
gy.    He  shows,  in  the  first  instance,  that  the  Hindoos  themselves  es- 

*  Vol.  i.  p.  37. 


244  LECTURE  THE  SEVENTH. 

tablish  the  birth-place  of  tlieir  nation  towards  the  West,  and  probably 
in  the  region  of  the  Caucasus.  But  at  different  periods  those  tribes, 
which  remained  in  that  portion  of  Asia,  and  had  received  the  name 
of  Scythians,  seem  to  have  become  the  invaders  of  the  new  settle- 
ments of  their  brethren,  and  to  have  considerably  modified  Indian 
,  manners  and  religion,  at  the  same  time  they  gave  rise  to  some  of  the 
j  most  distinguished  lines  of  kings.  About  600  years  before  Christ, 
I  we  have  notice  of  an  irruption  of  those  tribes  into  India,  which  is 
\  nearly  contemporary  with  a  similar  invasion,  from  the  same  quarter, 
towards  Asia  Minor,  the  north  of  Europe,  and  eastward  as  far  as 
^  Bactria,  where  they  overthrew  the  Greek  dominion.  The  ancient 
Geta;,  are  to  be  discovered  in  the  Jits  of  modern  India,  where  they 
are  spread  from  the  mountains  of  Joud  to  the  shores  of  the  Mekran, 
and  yet  follow  the  same  nomadic  form  of  life  which  they  did  in  their 
more  northern  latitudes.  The  Asi  of  ancient  history  are  probably 
the  Aswa  race  of  India.*  After  establishing  these  resemblances  in 
name,  the  learned  writer  proceeds  to  trace  such  points  of  similarity 
between  the  inhabitants  of  the  north,  and  the  present  occupiers  of 
the  Rajasthan,  in  dress,  in  theogony,  in  warlike  customs,  in  religious 
forms,  and  civil  observances,  as  cannot  leave  any  reasonable  doubt 
regarding  the  affinity  of  the  two  races. t  Whether  the  hypothesis  be 
well  sustained,  that  these  resemblances  arise  from  a  subsequent  in- 
vasion, or  whether  they  are  remains  of  a  primary  affinity,  may  be,  I 
think,  a  matter  of  free  discussion.  And  whether  some  of  the  ety- 
mologies can  be  maintained  I  have  reason  to  doubt ;  for  I  fear  in 
some  places  the  resemblance  of  names  is  not  sufficiently  confirmed 
by  historical  data,  to  warrant  our  conclusion  of  identity  of  objects. 
But  all  these  are  considerations  of  secondary  importance ;  quite 
enough  has  been  done  by  my  learned  friend  to  satisfy  us  of  the  earli- 
er connexion  between  the  tribes  that  yet  occupy  Scandinavia,  and 
those  which  still  hold  dominion  in  India.  And  this  will  afford 
grounds  for  several  reflections. 

For,  you  will  perceive  how,  on  several  occasions,  besides  ray 
principal  object  of  tracing  the  bearings  of  scientific  researches  upon 
sacred  truths,  I  have  endeavored  to  call  your  attention  to  the  light 
which  one  pursuit  casts  upon  another.  And  so,  here,  I  wish  you  to 
note  how  our  former  inquiries  seem  to  receive  striking  illustration 
from  these  totally  different  researches,  yet  so   as  to  confirm  still  fur- 

*  Page  63.  f  Page  65—80. 


EARLY    HISTORY.  245 

ther  the  evidence  they  gave  in  favor  of  the  inspired  narrative.  Thus 
we  found,  that  every  new  step  in  the  comparative  study  of  languages 
brought  us  nearer  to  a  positive  demonstration,  that  mankind  were 
originally  one  family ;  and  the  investigation  of  the  early  history  of 
nations,  assisted  by  the  observation  of  their  manners,  religions,  and 
habits,  brings  us  to  precisely  the  same  conclusion.  Nor  is  this  con- 
fined merely  to  the  members  of  the  same  ethnographic  family,  such 
as  the  Germans  and  Indians  ;  but  Colonel  Tod  has  certainly  pointed 
out  such  curious  coincidences  between  the  origin  assigned  to  their 
respective  nations  by  the  Monguls  and  Chinese,  and  the  early  my- 
thological annals  of  the  Indians,  as  seem  to  place  us,  in  the  histori- 
cal investigation  of  their  common  origin,  much  in  the  same  position, 
as  the  discoveries  of  Lepsius  and  others  do  in  respect  to  the  ethno- 
graphical inquiry,  that  is,  in  the  possession  of  strong  probability,  that 
families  of  men,  now  completely  distinguished  by  different  languages, 
may  be  shown  to  have  been  originally  one.  In  each  science  perhaps 
only  one  step  has  been  made,  but  that  is  so  successful,  as  to  augur 
still  fuller  and  more  satisfactory  discoveries.  And  if  the  common 
origin  of  these  nations  can  be  historically  established,  we  have  a 
strong  proof  that  some  great  and  unknown  cause  must  have  acted,  to 
give  each  of  them  a  language  so  essentially  peculiar  and  distinct. 

Again,  by  these  researches,  we  have  it  still  further  proved,  that 
climate  or  some  other  cause  may  change  the  outward  habit  and  phys- 
iognomy of  a  people.  For,  taking  the  learned  writer's  hypothesis  to 
its  full  extent,  and  supposing  the  race  now  occupying  the  Rajasthan 
to  be  a  northern  tribe,  who  invaded  it  from  the  north  only  GOO  years 
before  Christ,  indeed  to  be  a  portion  of  that  nation  which,  about  the 
same  period,  took  possession  of  Jutland,  we  have  it  shown  how  two 
colonies  of  the  same  tribe  may,  inthe  course  of  some  centuries,  have 
acquired  the  most  different  physical  characteristics  ;  the  one  receiv- 
ing the  fair  and  xanthous  traits  of  the  Dane,  the  other,  the  dusky  hue 
of  the  Indian.  But,  if  we  do  not  go  so  far,  and  only  suppose  the  re- 
semblances of  names  and  manners  to  be  traces  of  a  primeval  affinity, 
we  may  still  draw  a  similar  conclusion,  varying  only  in  a  compara- 
tive vagueness  of  date,  that  the  Getae  of  Scythia  formed  the  fairest  of 
the  Caucasian  race,  while  those  of  Hindoostan  rank  among  the  dark- 
est of  the  Mongul.  This  reflection,  too,  will  go  far  to  overthrow 
Heeren's  hypothesis  of  the  existence  of  two  different  races  in  the  In- 

*  Psge  56. 


246  LKCTURE  THE  SEVENTH. 

dian  peninsula,  discernible  at  this  day   by  variety  of  color,  and  con- 
stituting the  Brahmin  and  the  inferior  castes. 

The  complete  resemblance  between  the  mythological  systems  of 
India,  Greece,  and  Scandinavia,  obvious  not  merely  in  the  characters 
and  attributes  of  their  respective  deities,  but  even  in  their  names  and 
in  the  minutest  circumstances  of  their  legends,  is  a  discovery  which 
belongs  to  the  earlier  history  of  these  studies.  Sir  W.  Jones,  Wil- 
fort,  and  others,  in  the  last  generation,  had  abundantly  established 
this  point.  The  last-mentioned  writer  also  renewed  with  elaborate 
care  the  old  hypothesis,  that  a  close  affinity  existed  between  the  an- 
cient worshippers  of  the  Nile  and  the  Ganges  ;  but,  unfortunately,  the 
circumstances  I  have  already  detailed,  regarding  him,  have  cast  a 
damp  upon  the  interest  which  his  researches  must  have  otherwise 
excited.  Col.  Tod  has,  however,  added  many  interesting  points  of 
resemblance,  to  those  which  we  already  possessed,  between  the  my- 
thologies of  the  two  countries.  I  will  content  myself  with  alluding 
to  his  description  of  the  festival  ofGoure,  as  kept  with  great  solem- 
nity in  Mewar,  and  to  the  remarks  which  he  has  added  as  a  com- 
mentary upon  it.*  Here  then,  again,  we  have  an  accession  of 
strength  to  those  reasons  which  would  lead  us  to  suspect  affinity  be- 
tween two  nations  belonging  to  different  families,  according  to  their 
philological  distribution. 

This  growing  accumulation  of  proof  in  favor  of  the  common  ori- 
gin of  nations,  drawn  from  researches  which  have  no  natural  direc- 
tion to  its  discovery,  must  greatly  strengthen  our  confidence  in  the 
usefulness  of  every  study,  when  reduced  to  proper  harmony  with  its 
sister  sciences,  and  made  to  advance  with  them  at  an  even  pace. 

After  having  thus  seen  the  chronology  of  India  brought  down 
to  reasonable  limits,  and  new  analogies  discovered  in  its  early 
history,  with  the  origin  of  other  nations,  there  can  be  little  to  detain 
us  amidst  the  inhabitants  of  Asia.  No  other  people  of  that  continent 
has  affisrded  scope  for  such  assiduous  investigation,  partly  because 
none  has  materials  of  equal  interest  to  stimulate  the  industry  of  schol- 
ars, partly,  because  our  connexion  with  that  country  has  given  us 
greater  opportunities  of  cultivating  the  language  in  which  its  records 
are  written.  But  that  I  may  not  appear  uncourteous  to  other  nations, 
and  that  no  suspicion  may  arise  that  their  annals  are  not  so  easily 
dealt  with  as  those  which  I  have  discussed,  I  will  briefly  give  you  the 

*  Page  570. 


EARLY    HISTORY.  247 

opinion  of  one  or  two  writers  who  have,  in  our  times,  taken  pains  to 
unravel  their  native  chronologies. 

Klaproth,  in  an  essay  several  times  reprinted  by  him,  in  various 
forms  and  languages,  has  attempted  to  fix  the  dates  for  the  commence- 
ment of  certain  and  of  doubtful  history,  in  different  Asiatic  nations, 
following  chiefly  their  own  historians.*  He  soon  disposes  of  all 
Mohammedan  kingdoms  which  have  no  early  history  except  what 
they  borrow  from  Moses,  or  engraft  upon  a  Jewish  stock.  Even  the 
Persian  annals  can  hardly  go  back  beyond  the  accession  of  the 
Sassanides  to  the  throne  in  227.  Cyrus  appears  in  them  as  a  heroic 
or  mythological  person  ;  before  him  we  have  the  dynasty  of  the 
Pishdadians,  a  region  of  mere  fable  ;t  and  it  is  a  dispute  among  the 
learned,  whether  Gustasp,  the  contemporary  of  Zerdhust,  or  Zooraster 
is  the  Hystaspes  of  history,  or  a  sovereign  coeval  with  Ninus,]:  or,  in 
fine,  the  Median  Cyaxares.§ 

In  much  the  same  condition  are  those  Christian  nations,  whose 
history,  comparatively  modern,  has  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  clergy, 
the  natural  annalists  of  a  less  refined  people.  These  would,  of 
course,  reject  those  crude  legendary  traditions  which  form  the  re- 
mote history  of  pagan  nations,  whom  they  would  not  wish  any  longer 
to  resemble,  by  descent  from  unclean  and  impious  deities  :  and  they 
would  seek  to  substitute  such  early  records  as  the  inspired  writings 
afforded  them,  in  their  room.  This  we  find  to  be  actually  the  case 
with  the  Georgians  and  Armenians.  The  first  portion  of  their 
annals  is  drawn  from  the  Bible ;  they  endeavor  to  find  their  forefathers 
in  that  store-house  of  primeval  history,  the  book  of  Genesis ;  they 
next  fill  up  a  long  space  with  accounts  gleaned  from  foreign  histori- 
ans, and,  at   last,  attach  to  them  their  own   meagre  narratives,  too 


*  "  Examen  des  historiens  Asiatiques,"  first  publisbed  in  the 
"Journal  Asiatique,"  Sept.  and  Nov.  1823;  then  reprinted  in  his 
"  Memoires  relatifs  k  I'Asie,"  vol.  i.  p.  389,  which  I  shall  refer  to  in  the 
text.  The  essay  re-appeared,  under  the  title  of  "  WUrdigung  der 
asiatischen  Geschichtschreiber,"  in  his  "Asia  Polyglotta.'"    pji.  1 — 18. 

f  Hyde,  "De  religione  veterum  Persarum,"  p.  312.  Von  Hamtner, 
"  Heidelberg  Jahrbuclier,  1823,  p.  86.     Guigniaut,  uhi  sup.  p.  688. 

I  Rhode,  "Die  heilige  Sage  .  .  .  der  alten  Baktrer,  Meder  und 
Perser."  Frank/.  1820,  p.  15%  seqq.  Volney,  "Recherches  nouvelies 
sur  I'Historie  ancienne."  Par.  1822,  p.  283. 

§  The  opinion  preferred  by  Tychsen,  "  Comment.  Soc.  Goetting," 
vol.  xi.  p.  112,  and  Heeren,  "  Idecn,"  i.  Th.  i.  Abth.  p.  440. 


248  LECTURE  THE  SEVENTH. 

modern  to  trouble  the  most  delicate  sensitiveness,  on  the  score  of 
revelation.  The  earliest  period  to  which  any  thing  among  them 
pretending  to  the  name  of  history  can  reach  is,  according  to  Kla- 
proth,  two  or  three  centuries  before  Christ.* 

But  we  still  have  China  to  dispose  of;  and  surely  it,  at  least, 
must  be  expected  from  the  remarks  which  I  have  made.  For  it 
possesses  a  native  literature,  of  great  antiquity,  and  pretends  to  be 
the  first  or  primary  nation  of  the  globe.  We  all  know,  too,  that  it 
carries  back  its  annals  to  a  very  formidable  age  ;  and  it  might  be  ex- 
pected, that  as  much  attention  should  be  devoted  to  its  claims  as  we 
have  bestowed  on  its  rival's  in  India.  I  will,  however,  content  my- 
self with  laying  before  you,  in  a  few  words,  the  conclusions  to  which 
Klaproth  came,  from  the  study  of  its  authors,  to  which  he  was  princi- 
pally devoted  ;  and  I  can  assure  you,  that  you  will  have  the  decision 
of  a  judge  by  no  means  disposed  to  second  our  desires,  by  deprecia- 
ting the  glories  of  the  Chinese. 

According  to  him,  therefore,  the  earliest  historian  of  China  was 
its  celebrated  philosopher  and  moralist,  Confucius.  He  is  said  to  have 
drawn  up  the  annals  of  his  coimtry,  known  under  the  name  of  Chu- 
King,  from  the  days  of  Yao,  till  his  own  times.  Confucius  is  sup- 
posed to  have  lived  about  four  or  five  hundred  years  before  Christ, 
and  the  era  of  Yao  is  placed  at  2557  years  before  the  same  era. 
Thus,  then,  we  have  upwards  of  2000  years  between  the  first  histori- 
an and  the  earliest  events  which  he  records.  But  this  antiquity, 
however  remote,  did  not  satisfy  the  pride  of  the  Chinese  ;  and  later 
historians  have  prefixed  other  reigns  to  that  of  Yao,  which  stretched 
back  to  the  venerable  antiquity  of  three  million  two  hundred  and 
seventy  six  thousand  years,  before  Christ. 

That  you  may  estimate  still  more  accurately  the  authenticity  of 
the  Chinese  annals,  I  must  not  omit  to  state,  that  two  hundred  years 
after  the  death  of  Confucius,  the  Emperor,  Chi-Hoangti,  of  the  dy- 
nasty of  Tsin,  proscribed  the  works  of  the  philosopher,  and  ordered 
all  the  copies  of  them  to  be  destroyed.  The  Chu-King,  however, 
was  recovered,  in  the  following  dynasty  of  Han,  from  the  dictation  of 
an  old  man,  who  had  retained  it  by  memory.  Such,  then,  is  the 
origin  of  historical  science  in  China ;  and  in  spite  of  all  due  venera- 
tion for  the  great  moralist  of  the  East,  and  of  respect  for  his  assertion, 
that  he  only  wrought  on  materials  already  existing,  Klaproth  does 

*P.412. 


EAKLY    HISTORY. 


249 


not  hesitate  to  deny  the  existence  of  historical  certainty  in  the  celes- 
tial empire,  earlier  than  783  years  before  Christ,  pretty  nearly  the 
era  of  the  foundation  of  Rome,  when  Hebrew  literature  was  already 
on  the  decline.* 

The  Japanese,  in  historical  knowledge,  are  but  the  copiers  of  the 
Chinese.  They,  too,  pretend  to  their  millions  of  years  before  the 
Christian  era.  But  the  first  portion  of  their  annals  is  purely  mytholo- 
gical ;  the  second  presents  us  with  the  Chinese  dynasties  as  reign- 
ing in  Japan  ;  and  it  is  not  till  the  accession  of  the  Dairi  to  the 
throne,  only  C60  years  before  Christ,  that  any  dependence  can  be 
placed  upon  their  records.! 

In  glancing  back  over  the  chronology  of  the  different  nations  of 
which  I  have  treated,  you  cannot  help  being  struck  with  the  circum- 
stance, that  every  attempt  has  failed  to  establish,  for  any  of  them,  a 
system  of  chronology  derogatory  to  the  authority  of  the  Mosaic  rec- 
ords. In  most  of  them,  even  when  we  have  granted  a  real  existence 
to  the  most  doubtful  portions  of  their  history,  we  are  not  led  back  to 
an  epoch  anterior  to  what  Scripture  assigns  for  the  existence  of 
powerful  empires  in  eastern  Africa,  and  enterprising  States  on  the 
western  coast  of  Asia. 

The  learned  Windischmann,  whom  I  feel  a  pride  in  calling  my 
friend,  admits  the  entire  period  of  Chinese  history  allotted  by  Klap- 
roth  to  the  uncertain  times,  and  shows  its  agreement  with  another 
form  of  computation,  drawn  from  the  cycles  of  years  adapted  by  the 
Chinese  ;  and  the  result  is  a  sufficiently  accurate  accordance  between 
the  date  assigned  to  the  foundation  of  the  celestial  empire  by  Fo-hi, 
or  Fuchi,  whom  some  have  even  supposed  to  be  Noah,  the  time  of 
the  deluge,  according  to  the  Samaritan  Pentateuch,  and  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Indian  Cali-Yuga,  or  iron  age.J  The  philosophical 
Schlegel  not  only  concurs  in  the  same  view,  but  approves  also  of 
Abel-Remusat's  idea,  that  the  written  Chinese  character  mu^  be 
4000  years  old  ;  "  this,"  he  observes,  "  would  bring  it  back  within 

*  P.  406.  Abel-R6tnusat  is  disposed  to  allow  Chinese  history  to 
reach  back  to  the  year  2200  before  Christ,  and  plausible  tradition  to  go 
as  far  back  as  2637.  Even  this  antiquity  presents  nothing  formidable 
to  a  Christian's  convictions.— "Nouveaux  Melanges  Asiatiques,"  torn.  i. 
p.  61.  Par.  1829. 

t  P.  408. 

I  "Die   Philosophic    in    Fortgang   der    WeltgeschicliLc."  1    Th.   1 
Ahtheil.  Bonn.  1827,  p.  18. 
32 


250  LECTURE  THE  SEVENTH. 

three  or  four  generations  from  the  deluge,  according  to  the  vulgar 
era, — an  estimate  which  certainly  is  not  exaggerated."* 

Even  in  India,  you  have  seen  authors,  like  Col.  Tod,  assuming, 
almost  without  limitation,  the  chronological  tables  of  the  country,  and 
yet  coming  pretty  exactly  to  the  same  period  for  the  commencement 
of  its  history.  Surely  a  convergence  like  this  must  have  the  force  of 
proof  with  the  most  obstinate  mind,  and  produce  conviction,  that 
some  great  and  insuperable  barrier  must  have  interposed  between 
nations  and  any  earlier  definite  traditions,  at  the  same  time  that  it 
allowed  some  faint  rays  of  recollection  to  pass,  of  the  original  state 
and  happier  constitution  of  the  human  race.  A  sudden  catastrophe, 
whereby  mankind  were,  in  great  part,  though  not  totally,  extinguish- 
ed, presents  the  most  natural  solution  of  all  difficulties,  and  the  con- 
current testimony  of  physical  phenomena,  with  the  silent  acknowl- 
edgment of  the  vainest  nations,,  must  assuredly  shield,  from  every 
attack,  this  record  of  our  inspired  volume. 

There  is  yet  another  nation,  whose  history  is  perhaps  more  inter- 
esting than  any  v.  hich  we  have  discussed  ;  but  it  will  afford  us  suffi- 
cient matter  for  another  meeting. 

*  "  Philosopliy  of  History,"  vol.  i.  p.  106,  Robertson's  trans!. 


LECTURE  THE  EIGHTH 


EARLY    HISTORY 


PART  II. 


Egyptians. — 1.  Historical  Monuments.  Mystery  of  their  Monuments. 
— Excessive  Antiquity  ascribed  to  tlie  Nation. — Tlie  Rosetta  Stone. 
— First  researches  into  the  Egyptian  Characters  on  it,  by  Akerblad 
and  De  Sacy,  Young  and  Champollion.  Hieroglyphic  Alpliabet. — 
Opposition  raised.  —  Api)lications  of  the  Chronology  discovered 
through  it  to  the  iNustration  of  Scripture  by  Coquerel,  Greppo,  and 
Bovet. — Inedited  Letter  by  Champollion  on  this  subject. — Rosellini  ; 
his  series  of  Egyptian  Kings; — their  coincidence  with  those  of  Scrip- 
ture.— Vindication  and  illustration  of  a  Prophecy  in  Ezekiel. 

2,  Astronomical  Monuments.  Zodiacs  of  Dendera  and  Esneh.  Absnrd 
antiquity  ascribed  to  them.  Discoveries  of  Mr.  Bankes,  MM.  Cham- 
pollion and  Letronne.  Proved  to  be  purely  Astrological. — Commen- 
tary on  some  observations  in  the  British  Critic. 

From  the  soil  of  Asia,  over  which  late  we  strayed,  fruitful  in  ev- 
ery science,  and  varied  by  the  display  of  every  degree  in  cultivation, 
from  the  restless  nomade,  or  the  untamed  mountaineer,  to  the  luxu- 
rious Persian,  or  the  polished  Ionian,  we  have  now  to  turn  tea  coun- 
try whereon  nature  seemeth  to  have  set  the  seal  of  desolation  physi- 
cal and  moral.  One  redeeming  spot  alone  of  Africa  has  been  the 
seat  of  an  indigenous  civilization,  a  native  dynasty  and  domestic 
class  of  monuments;  and  the  valley  of  the  Nile  appears  rightly 
placed  in  such  a  geographical  situation,  as  almost  detaches  its  in- 
habitants from  the  degraded  tenants  of  the  wilderness,  and  links 
them  with  the  more  favored  regions  of  the  East. 

At  every  period,  this  extraordinary  nation  has  interested  the  at- 
tention of  the  learned.     Its  origin  seemed  to  have  been  a  problem  to 


252  LECTURE  THE  EIGHTH. 

itself,  and  consequently  to  all  others.  The  mysterious  allegories  of 
its  worship,  the  dark  sublimity  of  its  morality,  and  above  all,  the  im- 
penetrable enigma  of  its  written  monuments,  threw  a  mythological 
veil  over  its  history.  The  learned  approached  it,  as  if  in  the  most 
obvious  facts  they  had  to  decypher  a  hieroglyphic  legend ;  and  we 
were  inclined  to  look  upon  the  Egyptians,  as  a  people,  which,  even 
in  its  more  modern  periods,  retained  the  shadowy  tints  and  ill-defined 
traits  of  remote  antiquity,  and  which  might  consequently  boast  an 
e.vistence  far  beyond  the  reach  of  calculation.  We  were  almost 
tempted  to  believe  them,  when  they  told  us,  that  their  first  monarchs 
were  the  gods  of  the  rest  of  the  world. 

When,  after  so  many  ages  of  darkness  and  uncertainty,  we  see 
the  lost  history  of  this  people  revive,  and  take  its  stand  beside  that  of 
other  ancient  empires  ;  when  we  read  the  inscriptions  of  its  kings, 
recording  their  mighty  exploits  and  regal  qualities,  and  gaze  upon 
their  monuments,  with  the  full  understanding  of  the  events  which 
they  commemorate,  the  impression  is  scarcely  less  striking  to  an  en- 
lightened mind,  than  what  the  traveller  would  feel,  if,  when  silently 
pacing  the  catacombs  at  Thebes,  he  should  see  those  corpses,  which 
the  embalmer's  skill  has  for  so  many  ages  rescued  from  decay,  on 
a  sudden  burst  their  cerements,  and  start  resuscitated  from  their 
niches. 

While  such  a  darkness  overhung  the  history  of  Egypt,  it  is  no 
wonder  that  the  adversaries  of  religion  should  have  retreated  within 
it,  as  a  strong-hold,  and  eagerly  attacked  her  from  behind  its  shelter. 
They  collected  together  the  scattered  fragments  of  its  annals,  just  as 
Isis  did  the  torn  limbs  of  Osiris,  and  tried  to  re-construct,  by  their 
re-union,  a  favorite  idol,  a  chronology  of  countless  ages,  totally  in- 
compatible with  that  of  Moses.  Volney  had  no  hesitation  in  placing 
the  formation  of  the  sacerdotal  colleges  in  Egypt  13,300  years  before 
Christ,  and  calling  that  the  second  period  of  its  history  !*  Even  the 
third  period,  in  which  he  supposes  the  temple  of  Esneh  to  have  been 
built,  goes  as  far  back  as  4,600  before  that  era ;  somewhere  about 
what  we  reckon  the  epoch  of  creation  !  But  the  mysterious  monu- 
ments of  Egypt  formed  the  most  useful  entrenchments  to  these  assail- 
ants. They  called  upon  those  huge  and  half-buried  colossal  images, 
and  those  subterraneous  temples  to  bear  witness  to  the  antiquity  and  ear- 
ly civilization  of  the  nation  which  erected  them  ;  they  appealed  to  their 

'  "  Rccherc'hes,"  vol.  ii.  p.  440. 


EARLY    HISTORY.  253 

astronomical  remains,  to  attest  the  skill,  matured  by  ages  of  observa- 
tion, of  those  who  projected  them.  More  than  all,  they  saw  in  those 
hieroglyphic  legends  the  venerable  dates  of  sovereigns,  deified  long 
before  the  modern  days  of  Moses  or  Abraham;  they  pointed  in  tri- 
umph to  the  mysterious  characters  which  an  unseen  hand  had  traced 
on  those  primeval  walls,  and  boasted  that  only  a  Daniel  vvas  wanted 
that  could  decypher  them,  to  show  that  the  evidences  of  Christianity 
had  been  weighed  and  found  wanting  ;  and  its  kingdom  divided  be- 
tween the  infidel  and  the  libertine  !  Vain  boast !  The  temples  of 
Egypt  have  at  length  answered  their  appeal,  in  language  more  intel- 
ligible than  they  could  possibly  have  anticipated,  for  a  Daniel  has 
been  found  in  judicious  and  persevering  study.  After  the  succes- 
sion had  been  so  long  interrupted,  Young  and  Champollion  have  put 
on  the  linen  robe  of  the  hierophant;  and  the  monuments  of  the  Nile, 
unlike  the  fearful  image  of  Sais,  have  allowed  themselves  to  be  un- 
veiled by  their  hands,  without  any  but  the  most  wholesome  and  con- 
soling results  having  followed  from  their  labor. 

The  history  of  the  discovery  to  which  I  allude  is  not  perhaps  dif- 
ficult to  unravel ;  but  it  is  by  no  means  easy  to  allot  to  each  claimant 
his  share  of  merit.  There  certainly  were  approximating  steps  in  the 
researches  of  sagacious  antiquaries,  before  the  announcement  of  a 
complete  system  of  hieroglyphic  literature  flashed  upon  Europe.  It 
is  more  than  probable  that  Champollion  would  not  so  easily  have  at- 
tained it,  had  not  the  way  been  pioneered  before  him  ;  but  still,  the 
step  which  he  at  once  made,  from  the  conjectural  course  and  detached 
applications  which  others  had  pursued  before  him,  to  a  general  sys- 
tem, at  once  applicable  to  any  case  ;  and  yet  more,  the  public  inter- 
est which  his  publication  drew  upon  the  study,  making  it  pass  from 
the  hands  of  a  few  profound  scholars,  into  the  general  literature  of 
the  day  ;  are  grounds  which  he  might  well  advance  for  being  consid- 
ered the  discoverer,  or  restorer  of  hieroglyphical  learning. 

In  the  last  century,  Warburton,  and  after  him,  Zoega,  had  con- 
jectured that  the  hieroglyphics,  in  reality  represented  letters,  but 
neither  could  pretend  to  have  verified  the  opinion  by  any  practical 
observation.  In  fact,  it  was  not  even  known  with  accuracy,  what 
the  language  of  ancient  Egypt  was.  Jablonsky  had  made  it  extreme- 
ly probable  that  it  was  the  same  as  the  Coptic,  or  modern  ecclesiasti- 
cal language  of  the  same  country  ;  for  he  had  sufficiently  explained 
from  this,  the  Egyptian  names  and  words  which  occur  in   the  Old 


254  LECTURE  THE  EIGHTH. 

Testament*  But,  if  any  doubt  existed  regarding  this  matter,  it  was 
completely  removed  by  the  learned  Quatremere,  in  his  interesting 
work  on  the  language  and  literature  of  Egypt.t  wherein  the  identity 
or  close  affinity,  of  the  ancient  and  modern  languages  was  amply 
demonstrated.  One  great  obstacle,  therefore,  to  the  decyphering  of 
ancient  Egyptian  inscriptions  was  removed,  supposing  them  to  be 
composed  of  alphabetical  characters.  It  is  just,  also,  to  observe,  that 
before  the  discovery  which  dimmed  the  glory  he  would  otherwise 
have  received  from  his  former  researches,  Champollion  was  one  of  the 
first  and  most  assiduous  to  gather  information  from  Coptic  literature, 
upon  the  geography  and  history  of  ancient  Egypt.| 

When  the  language  is  known,  or  may  be  probably  conjectured, 
in  which  inscriptions  are  written,  there  are  certain  rules  whereby 
they  may  be  reduced  to  intelligible  characters.  The  great  difficulty 
is  to  know  where  to  begin,  for  the  first  step  must  be  conjectural. 
Thus  it  was,  for  instance,  with  the  arrow,  or  nail,  or  wedge-headed 
inscriptions  of  Persepolis,  which  had  perplexed  the  learned  world 
since  they  were  first  made  known  by  Niebuhr,  till  they  were  almost 
simultaneously  decyphered  by  Saint-Martin,  in  Paris,  and  Grote- 
fend,  at  Vienna.  The  process  followed  by  the  former  was  exceed- 
ingly simple  and  obvious.  The  language,  he  supposed,  would  be 
Persian,  and  the  ancient  dialect  is  sufficiently  known  in  the  modern 
and  in  the  Zend,  to  give  him  some  lever  wherewith  to  commence  his 
work.  He  selected  an  inscription,  from  its  form  and  position  mani- 
festly historical :  and  assuming,  that  in  any  such,  if  in  honor  of  a 
Persian  monarch,  the  title  "  king  of  kings"  would  be  found,  he 
turned  his  attention  to  two  words  or  groups  of  letters  placed  together, 
exactly  similar,  except  that  the  termination  of  one  was  sufficiently 
varied,  to  give  ground  for  supposing  that  it  was  the  plural  of  the  oth- 
er. Having  by  this  means  acquired  the  power  of  the  letters  which 
composed  these  two  words,  he  applied  them  to  a  proper  name,  which 
nearly  resembled  them,  and  thus  was  in  possession  of  the  name  of 
Xerxes,  which  does,  in  reality,'  bear  an  affinity  in  sound  to  the  old 
Persian  title  of  King.§     The  ground-work  was  thus  laid,  and  by  ap- 


*  "  Opusciila  quibus  lingua  et  aiitiquitas  iEgyptiorum,  difficilia  LL. 
SS.  loca  illustrantur."  Lmlg.  Bat.  1804. 

t  "  Recherclies  sur  la  langiie  et  la  litt^raiure  de  T'Egypte."  Par. 
1808. 

t  "L''Egypte  sous  les  Pharaons."  Par.  1814, 
§  Journal  Asiatique.  Tom.  ii.  1833,  pp.  75—79. 


EARLY    HISTORY.  "^^ 


plying  the  letters  gradually  discovered,  to  other  words  wherein  they 
occurred  in  conjunction  with  others  unknown,  these  in  their  turn 
yielded   to  his   investigation,  and   placed   him   in   possession  of  his 

alphabet. 

The  process  ].ursued  in  the  examination  and  discovery  of  hiero- 
glyphics was  precisely  similar.     The  difficulty,  as  I  before  hinted, 
was  where  to  begin  ;  but  fortunately  a  plausible  conjecture,  which  as 
in  the  other  instance,  proved  well  grounded,  gave  a  firm  foundation 
to  the  entire  system  of  discovery.     You  cannot  have  failed  to  observe, 
how  on  all  Egyptian  monuments,  certain  groups  of  hieroglyphics  are 
enclosed  in  an  oblong  frame,  or  parallelogram,  with  rounded  corners. 
It  had  been  long  conjectured,  with  great  appearance  of  plausibility 
that  these  distinguished  hieroglyphics  expressed  propernames;  and 
nothing  was  wanting  to  begin  the  work  upon  them  ;  for  proper  names 
could  never  be  well  expressed  in  any  language  by  emblems,  but 
must  be  somehow  composed  of  pAone^iV,  or  sound-expressing  charac- 
ters     This  is  the  case  even  in  Chinese  ;  where  the  language  is 
ideographic,  or  representative  of  objects  or  ideas,  yet  is  reduced  to 
the  necessity  of  adopting  a  different  system  for  words  which  represent 
neither  but  only  an  artificial  combination  of  sounds,  denoting  a  per- 
son or  place.     If,  therefore,  it  could  be  once  possible  to  know  a 
single  name  contained  in  one  of  these  squares,  the  decomposition  of 
it  into  its  primary  elements,  or  letters,  would  give  the  nucleus  of  an 
alphabet,  which  might  be  easily  extended. 

All  this  reasoning  is  extremely  simple,  and  though,  in  detailing  it, 
I  am  rather  giving  you  a  retrospective  view  of  acts  and  their  conse- 
quences, than  a  line  of  argument,  distinctly  and  systematically  plan- 
ned beforehand,  it  may  serve  to  show  you  by  what  consistent  and 
well-warranted   steps,   the  entire  investigation  proceeded.       Ihese 
were  not,  indeed,  the  work  of  one  man,  nor  of  one  country  ;  and  so 
far  from  any  rivalry  or  jealousy  being  felt  by  learned  men  on  different 
sides  of  the  Channel,  about  the  apparent  appropriation  of  each  other  s 
literary  discoveries,  I  think  it  should  be  matter  of  congratulation,  to 
observe  how  two  nations,  after  having  fought  bravely  for  the  time- 
worn  spoils  of  Egypt,  have  been  led  to  sit  down  together  in  peace  and 
harmony  around  them,  for  their   illustration  ;  and  if  the   mutilated 
fragment  of  the  Rosetta  stone  has  been   to  us  a  military  trophy. 
it  has  been  to  our  neighbors  the  monument  of  a  more  glorious  con- 
quest over  the  darkest  mysteries  of  a  hidden  art. 

This  celebrated  stone,  is.  at  present,  an  irregular  block  of  basalt. 


256  LECTURE    THE    EIGHTH. 

smooth  on  one  side,  and  may  be  considered  the  foundation  stone  of 
this  important  study ;  as  all  discoveries  in  it  owe  their  origin  and 
strength  to  the  first  elements  of  knowledge  which  it  supplied.  This 
almost  shapeless  mass,  which  a  few  years  ago  would  have  been 
thrown  aside  into  the  lumber-room  of  the  Museum,  is  now  one  of 
the  most  valuable  monuments  of  our  national  collection,  and  was 
originally  discovered  by  the  French  Expedition  in  digging  the  founda- 
tion of  a  fort  near  Rosetta.  It  contains  three  inscriptions,  one  in 
Greek,  another  in  hieroglyphics,  and  a  third  in  an  intermediate  alpha- 
bet, which  in  the  Greek  legend  is  called  enchorial*  It  was  evident 
from  this,  that  each  inscription  contained  nearly  the  same  sense, 
and  that  each  was  probably  a  version  of  the  others.  Here  then  was 
some  hope  of  a  discovery  in  the  unknown,  from  its  being  joined,  as 
in  equation,  with  the  known.  The  Greek  inscription  contains 
proper  names,  so  must  the  other  two ;  but  in  the  first  instance, 
probably  from  considering  the  task  as  hopeless,  the  hieroglyphic  in- 
scription hardly  obtained  attention  from  the  learned,  who  rather  ap- 
plied themselves  to  the  study  of  the  enchorial,  or,  as  it  has  since  been 
called,  demotic,  legend.  Perhaps  I  should  observe  that  the  language 
so  called  was  the  vernacular  dialect  of  Egypt,  the  Coptic,  and  that 
the  alphabet  used  in  it  is  a  linear  one,  formed,  however,  undoubtedly, 
through  several  gradations,  from  the  hieroglyphic. 

The  illustrious  Silvestre  de  Sacy  was  the  first  to  make  any  inter- 
esting discovery  on  this  subject.  He  observed  that  the  letters  or 
symbols  used  to  express  the  proper  names,  in  the  demotic  character, 
were  grouped  together,  so  as  to  have  the  appearance  of  being  letters  ; 
and  by  comparing  different  words,  wherein  the  same  sounds  occur- 
red, he  found  them  represented  by  the  same  figure ;  and  thus  he  ex- 
tracted from  them  the  rudiments  of  a  demotic  alphabet,  which  was 
further  illustrated  and  extended  by  Akerblad,  at  Rome,  and  Dr. 
Young  in  England.  All  these  researches  and  partial  discoveries  oc- 
curred as  early  as  1814,  and  by  no  means  close  the  history  of  the 
demotic  literature  of  Egypt.  Dr.  Young,  who  truly  deserves  the  title 
of  the  father  of  this  portion  of  Egyptian  studies,  pushed  them  forward 
to  the  almost  complete  formation  of  the  current  alphabet,  and  was 

*  This  custom  of  polyglott  inscriptions,  intended  only  for  one  coun- 
try, which  might  be  frequented  by  strangers,  illustrates  and  explains 
the  reasons  of  Pilate's  commanding  a  trilingual  inscription  to  be  placed 
over  our  Saviour's  cross. 


EARLY    HISTORY.  257 

aided  in  his  researches,  by  some  most  extraordinary  combinations  of 
circumstances. 

Thus,  for  instance,  a  copy  of  a  demotic  manuscript,  brought  to 
Europe   by  Casati,  was  placed  in  his  hands  by  M.  Champollion,  at 
Paris,  in  1822,  because  it  seemed  to  bear  considerable  resemblance 
to  the  preamble  of  the  Rosetta  stone.     Champollion  had  already  de- 
cphered  the  names  of  the  witnesses  who  signed  it,  for  it  seemed  to 
be  a  deed.     It  so  liappened  that  after  Dr.  Young's  return  to  England, 
Mr.  Grey  placed  at  his  disposal  a  Greek  ])apyrus,  which  he  had  pur- 
chased  at  Thebes,   together  with   others   in  Egyptian    characters. 
The  very  same  day,  he  proceeded  to  explore  this  treasure,  and  to  use 
the  Doctor's  own  expression,  he  could  scarcely  believe  that  he  was 
awake  and  in  his  sober  senses,  when   he  discovered  it  to  be  nothing 
less  than  a  translation  of  the  very  manuscript  which  he  had  procured 
at  Paris  ;  and  it  actually  bore  the  title  of  "  a  copy  of  an  Egyptian 
writing."  "  I  could   not,  therefore,  but  conclude,"   he  says,  "  that  a 
most  extraordinary  chance  had   brought  into  my  possession   a  docu- 
ment, which  was  not  very  likely,  in  the  first  place,  even  to  have  ex- 
isted, still  less  to  have  been  preserved   uninjured  for  my  information, 
through  a   period    of  near  two   thousand   years;  but  that  this  very 
extraordinary  translation  should  have  been  brought  safely  to  Europe, 
to  England,  and  to  us,  at  the  very  moment  that  it  was  most  desirable 
to  me  to  possess  it,  as  the  illustration  of  an  original  which  I  was  then 
studying,  but  without  any  other  reasonable  hope  of  being  UiMy  able 
to  comprehend  it ;  this  combination  would,  in  other  times,  have  been 
considered  as   affording  ample  evidence  of  my  being  an  Egyptian 
sorcerer."* 

But  I  have  pursued  further  than  was  necessary,  the  history  of 
this  secondary  branch  of  Egyptian  discovery  ;  which  is  interesting 
from  the  influence  it  had  on  the  decphering  of  hieroglyphical  legends. 
Here  also  Dr.  Young  decidedly  took  the  first  step,  however  imperfect 
it  may  be  considered.  He  conjectured  that  the  frames  which  occur- 
red in  the  inscription  of  Rosetta  included  the  name  of  Ptolemy,  and 

*  "An  account  of  some  recent  discoveries  in  hieroglyphical  litera- 
ture." Lond.  1823,  p.  58.  A  writer  on  tliis  subject  increases  the 
strange  combination  recorded  in  the  text,  still  further,  by  asserting  that 
both  the  docufiients  were  copies  of  a  bilingual  inscription  in  Drovetti's 
collection,  which  Dr.  Young,  with  an  illiberality  most  unusual  in  Italy, 
had  not  been  allowed  to  copy.  See  the  Marquis  Spineto's  "Lectures 
on  the  elements  of  hieroglyphics."  Lond.  1829,  p.  68.  But  of  this 
still  more  extraordinary  coincidence  not  a  hint  is  given  bv  Dr.  Young. 
33 


258  LECTURE  THE  EIGHTH. 

that  another,  in  which  was  inscribed  a  group,  with  what  he  consider- 
ed justly  the  sign  of  a  feminine,  contained  that  of  Berenice.  This 
conjecture  was  correct,  but  it  must  be  allowed  that  the  principle  on 
which  it  was  maintained  could  hardly  be  called  a  preliminary  step 
to  the  discoveries  of  Champoilion.  For,  as  he  observes,  Dr.  Young 
considered  each  hieroglyphic  to  be  syllabic  and  to  represent  a  conso- 
nant with  its  vowel,  a  system  which  would  have  fallen  to  the  ground, 
on  the  very  next  attempt  at  verification.  For,  he  read  the  two  names, 
Ptolemeas  and  Btreniken,  and  not,  as  was  subsequently  proved 
correct,  Ptolmes  and  Brneks.*  Dr.  Young  seems  therefore  en- 
titled to  little  more  than  the  praise  of  having  practically  attempted 
the  discovery  of  a  hieroglyphical  alphabet;  an  attempt,  which,  per- 
haps spurred  Clr.unpollion  on  to  his  more  successful  efforts. 

If  the  merit  of  the  very  first  step  has  been  thus  contested,  the 
second  has  been,  no  less,  an  object  of  rival  claims.  This  was  taken 
as  follows.  In  the  island  of  Phila;,  situated  high  up  the  Nile,  an 
obelisk  was  found,  and  thence  brought  to  England,  on  which  were 
two  cartouches,  or  frames  containing  hieroglyphics,  joined  together. 
One  of  these  presented  invariably  the  group  already  explained  in  the 
Rosetta  stone  by  the  name  of  Ptolemy.  The  other,  evidently  con- 
tained a  name  composed,  in  part,  of  the  same  letters,  and  followed  by 
the  sign  of  the  feminine  gender.  This  obelisk  had  been  originally 
placed  on  a  base  bearing  a  Greek  inscription,  which  contained  a  pe- 
tition of  the  priests  of  Isis  to  Ptolemy  and  Cleopatra,  and  spoke  of  a 
monument  to  be  raised  to  both.t  There  was,  consequently,  every 
reason  to  suppose  that  the  obelisk  bore  these  two  names  conjointly ; 
and  observation  proved  that  the  three  letters  common  to  both,  P,  T, 
and  L,  were  represented  in  the  female  name  by  the  same  signs  as 
occurred  for  them  in  the  king's.  Thus,  there  could  be  no  reasonable 
doubt,  as  to  this  second  name,  which  put  the  learned  investigators  in 
possession  of  the  other  letters  which  enter  into  its  composition.  All 
this  Champoilion  claimed  as  exclusively  his  own.|  Mr.  Bankes, 
however,  maintains  that  he  had  previously  decyphered  the  name  of 

*  "  Precis  du  Systeme  lii6rogly|)hique  des  anciens  Esyptiens,"  Par. 
1824,  p.  31. 

f  This  inscription  was  illustrated  by  Letronne  in  a  learned  essay 
upon  it,  entitled  ^'Eciaircissciiieiits  sur  une  inscription  Grecque,"  etc. 
Par.  1622.  The  inscription  had  been  copied  by  the  diligent  and  accu- 
rate Cnilii.'uid. 

I  "I.citjx-  a  M.  Dacicr."     Par.  182'2,  p.  6. 


EARLY    HISTORY. 


'259 


Cleopatra,  and  endeavors  to  show  that  Champollion  must  have  been 
aware  of  the  discovery.  For,  he  says,  that  he  had  been  led  to  the 
observation,  that  when  two  figures  occur  together  on  any  temple, 
they  are  so  repeated  throughout.  Now,  over  the  portico  at  Diospolis 
Parva,  is  a  Greek  inscription  to  Cleopatra  and  Ptolemy,  the  only  in- 
stance of  the  female  preceding ;  and,  so  through  the  temple,  she  is 
always  placed  before  the  effigy  of  the  king.  Over  the  latter  is  the 
same  hieroglyphical  group  as  Dr.  Young  had  assigned  to  the  name 
from  the  Rosetta  stone,  and  therefore  Mr.  Bankes  plausibly  conjec- 
tured, that  the  legend  over  the  other  expressed  the  name  of  the  queen, 
Cleopatra.  He  then  ascertained  that  both  on  the  obelisk  and  on  the 
temple  at  Philae,  which  were  determined,  by  Greek  inscriptions,  to  be 
dedicated  to  the  same  two  sovereigns,  similar  hieroglyphic  groups 
were  found.  This  led  him  to  the  certain  conclusion,  that  as  the  one 
designated  Ptolemy,  so  the  other  must  contain  the  name  of  his  con- 
sort. As  these  circumstances  were  marked  by  him  in  pencil  on  the 
very  engraving  of  his  obelisk  which  he  presented  to  the  Institute,  as 
they  alone  could  have  suggested  a  clue  to  Champollion's  conjectures, 
and  as  he  referred  to  this  very  print,  Mr.  Bankes  and  his  friends  con- 
clude, that  this  important  step  in  hieroglyphic  investigation,  should 
be  attributed  to  him.* 

When  these  first,  and  more  laborious  measures  had  been  once  ta- 
ken, the  work  was  comparatively  easy,  and  Champollion,  who  at  first 
had  imagined  that  his  system  could  only  apply  to  the  reading  of 
Greek  or  Latin  names  hieroglyphically  expressed,  soon  found  that 
the  older  names  yielded  to  the  key  ;  and  that  the  successive  dynasties 
of  Pharaohs  and  of  Persian  monarchs  who  had  ruled  in  Egypt,  had 
recorded  their  names  also,  with  their  titles  and  their  exploits,  in  the 
same  character.t  It  was  after  his  researches  had  reached  this  point, 
that  they  could  be  said  to  possess  a  real  value  for  history,  and  aid  us 
in  unravelling  the  complicated  difficulties  of  the  early  Egyptian 
annals.  But,  before  proceeding  to  trace  the  history  of  their  results, 
I  must  pause  to  explain  the  system  which  they  introduced. 

Many  scattered  passages  exist  in  ancient  writers  regarding  the 
hieroglyphical  writings  of  the  Egyptians,  but  there  was  one  which 
seemed  to  treat  the  subject  with  peculiar  detail.  It  lay  treasured  up 
in  that  vast  repertory  of  philosophical   learning,  the  Stromata  of 

*  Salt,  "  Essay  on  Dr.  Young's  and  M.  Champollion's  phonetic  syS' 
teni  of  Hieroglyphics."     Land.  1825,  p.  7,  note. 
t  Precis  du  Systeme,"  etc.  p.  2. 


260  LECTURE    THE    EIGHTH. 

Clement  of  Alexandria  ;  but  so  encased  in  impenetrable  difficulties, 
that  it  may  rather  be  said  to  have  been  explained  by  these  modern 
discoveries,  than  to  have  led  the  way  towards  them.  It  has,  however, 
rendered  them  most  essential  service,  by  strongly  corroborating  what 
must  be  considered  the  essential  foundation  of  their  results,  the  po- 
sition that  alphabetical  letters  were  used  by  the  Egyptians.  When 
this  passage  was  examined,  after  Champollion's  discovery,  it  was 
found  to  establish  this  point,  which  had  not  been  suspected  by  older 
investigators,  and  moreover  to  explain  the  various  mixture  of  alpha- 
betical and  symbolical  writing  used  in  Egypt,  in  a  manner  exactly 
corresponding  to  what  monuments  exhibit.  The  result  of  this  pas- 
sage, as  translated,  and  commented  on  by  Letronne,  is,  that  the 
Egyptians  used  three  different  sorts  of  writing  :  the  cpistolographic 
or  current  hand  ;  the  hieratic,  or  the  character  used  by  the  priests; 
and  the  hicroi^Jjjphic,  or  monumental  character.  Of  the  two  former 
we  ha\e  sufficient  examples  ;  the  first  being  the  demotic  or  enchorial, 
of  which  I  have  already  spoken  ;  the  second  a  species  of  reduced 
hieroglyphic  character,  in  which  a  rude  outline  represents  the  figures, 
and  which  is  found  on  manuscripts  which  accompany  mummies. 
The  third,  which  is  the  most  important,  is  composed,  according  to 
Clement,  first  of  alphabetical  words,  and  secondly  of  symbolical  ex- 
pressions, which  again  are  threefold,  being  either  representations  of 
objects,  or  metaphorical  ideas  drawn  from  them,  as  when  courage  is 
represented  by  a  lion,  or  else  merely  enigmatical  or  arbitrary  signs.* 
Now  observation  has  fully  confirmed  all  these  particulars;  for  even 
on  the  Rosetta  stone,  it  was  noticed,  that  when  some  object  was 
mentioned  in  the  Greek,  the  hieroglyphics  presented  a  picture  of  it, 
as  a  statue,  a  temple,  or  a  man.  On  other  occasions  objects  are 
representoil  by  emblems  which  must  be  considered  completely  arbi- 
trary, as  Osiris  by  a  throne  and  eye,  and  a  son  by  a  bird  most  resem- 
bling a  goose. 

Suffice  it  to  say,  that  new  discoveries  have  gradually  enlarged, 
and  perhaps  almost  completed  the  Egyptian  alphabet  till  we  are  in 
possession  of  a  key  to  read  all  proper  names,  and  even,  though  not 
with  equal  certainty,  other  hieroglyphic  texts.  To  proper  names  the 
application  is  so  simple,  that  you  may  be  said  to  possess  a  means  of 

*  "  Precis,"  p.  330.  See  also  the  pa.«saire  in  the  Marquis  de  Fortia 
d'Urhau's  Kssay,  "  Sur  les  trois  sistimes  {sic}  d'ecriture  dos  Egiptiens 
(sic,)  Par.  1833,  p.  10.  The  pas.sage  of  Clement  occurs  in  "  Stromata," 
Lib.  v.  §  I),  p.  245,  ed.  Potter. 


EARLY    HISTORY.  '261 

verifying  the  system,  perfectly  within  reach.  For  you  have  only  to 
walk  to  the  Capitol,  or  the  Vatican,  with  Charnpollion's  alphabet, 
and  try  your  skill  upon  the  proper  names  in  any  of  the  Egyptian  in- 
scriptions. 

The  fate  of  this  brilliant  discovery  was  the  same  as  we  saw  allot- 
ted to  Geology,  and  to  other  sciences.  Scarcely  was  it  announced 
to  Europe,  than  timid  minds  took  the  alarm,  and  reprobated  it,  as 
tending  to  lead  men  to  dangerous  investigations.  It  was  feared, 
apparently,  that  the  early  Egyptian  history,  thus  brought  to  light, 
would  be  employed  as  that  of  the  Chaldeans  and  Assyrians  had  been 
ill  the  last  century,  for  the  purpose  of  impugning  the  Mosaic  annals. 
Rosellini,  who  was  the  first  to  make  the  new  discovery  known  in 
Italy,  as  he  has  been  the  means  of  bringing  it  to  its  perfection,  justly 
observed,  that  such  an  outcry  has  been  raised  against  every  important 
discovery.  Those  who  raise  it,  he  adds,  do  but  little  justice  to  the 
truth,  by  being  so  timid  on  its  account.  "  This  truth  is  founded  on 
eternal  bases,  neither  can  the  envy  of  man  disprove  it,  nor  can  ages 
deface  it.  And  if  men,  eminent  for  their  piety  and  learning,  admit 
the  new  system,  what  has  revelation  to  fear  from  it?"*  In  fact,  the 
holy  pontiff  who  then  sat  in  the  chair  of  St.  Peter,  expressed  to 
Champollion  his  confidence,  that  his  discovery  would  render  essential 
service  to  religion. t  In  spite  of  this  high  sanction,  the  opposition 
has  since  continued,  and,  I  regret  to  say,  with  a  degree  of  personal 
feeling,  and  a  severe  animosity,  which  seem  hardly  worthy  of  a  just 
mind  employed  on  literary  pursuits. J 

Perhaps  the  best  conducted  attack  on  the  system,  because,  while 
free  from  the  feelings  which  I  have  just  blamed,  it  is  united  to  the 
desire  of  substituting  something  better  in  its  place,  is  that  lately  made 
by  the  Abbe  Count  De  Robiano,  who  ingeniously  exposes  the  weak 

*  "In  his  Italian  abridgment  of "  Champollion's Letters  to  the  Duke 
de  Blacas." 

f  "  Bulletin  Universe),"  7e  sect.  torn.  iv.  p.  6.  Par.  1825. 

I  I  w\\\  not  mention  the  various  essays  by  Riccardi  ;  but  the  learn- 
ed Professor  Lanci  has  been  particularly  zealous  in  his  resistance. 
"  Svanira,"  he  writes,  "  il  timore  che  il  nuovo  gerooflifico  sisteina  possa 
mai  adotiihrare  in  alcuna  parte,  queilu  storia  che  sola  merita  la  univer- 
sale venerazione."  "  Ulustrazioiie  di  uii  Kilanoglifo,"  in  his  "  Osserva- 
zioni  sul  basso  rilievo  Fenico-Egizio."  Rome,  18'25,  p.  4^.  —  See 
Champollion'.s  answer,  in  the  "  Memorie  Romane  di  Antichita."  1825. 
^ippend.  p.  10. 


262  LECTURE    THE    EIGHTH. 

parts  of  the  hieroglyphical  system,  especially  throufrh  the  demotic 
character.  He  institutes  a  very  patient  and  successful  analysis  of 
the  demotic  text  on  the  Rosetta  stone,  as  compared  with  the  Greek, 
and  concludes,  with  great  apparent  reason,  first,  that  the  one  is  not  a 
verbal  or  very  close  version  of  the  other,  and  secondly,  that  nothing 
has  been  done,  or  well  can  be  hoped,  towards  proving  the  identity  of 
the  Egyptian  phrases  thus  discovered,  with  corresponding  Coptic 
words.*  The  Abbe  is  himself  of  opinion,  that  the  language  of  Egypt 
is  of  Semitic  origin  ;  and,  on  this  hypothesis,  he  attempts  to  explain 
one  or  two  inscriptions  by  the  Hebrew  language.!  This  attempt, 
though  ingenious  and  learned,  does  not  seem  to  me  successful. 
However,  I  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  follow  the  arguments  of  this 
learned  ecclesiastic ;  because  it  does  not  strike  me  that  any  theory 
which  he  has  advanced,  at  all  affects  the  only  part  of  the  system 
interesting  to  our  present  inquiries,  its  power  of  decyphering  proper 
names. 

One  of  the  first  applications  made  by  M.  Champollion,  of  his  dis- 
covery, was  an  attempt  to  restore  the  series  of  Egyptian  kings.  The 
table  of  AbydosJ  had  given  him  a  list  of  pronomens,  and  the  exam- 
ination of  monuments  exhibited  the  names  of  the  kings  who  bore 
them.  These  corresponded  pretty  accurately  with  the  eighteenth 
dynasty,  contained  in  the  lists  of  kings  quoted  from  the  Egyptian 
priest,  Manetho,  by  Eusebius,  Syncellus,  and  Africanus ;  and  by 
combining  the  two  documents  together,  he  endeavored  to  trace  the 
ancient  history  of  Egypt.  As  the  Museum  of  Turin  had  supplied 
him  with  the  greater  part  of  his  monuments,  he  communicated  his 
results  in  letters  upon  that  magnificent  collection,  addressed  to  his 
great  Mecfenas,  the  Dukeof  Blacas.§  His  relative,  M.  ChampoUion- 
Figeac,  previously  known  for  his  learned  work  on  the  Lagides,  added 
as  an  appendix  to  each  of  these  letters,  a  chronological  disquisition, 
having  for  its  object  to  reconcile  together  the  discrepancies  in  the 
quotations  from  Manetho  given  by  ancient  writers. 

It  was  natural  to  expect  that  a  comparison  between  the  chronolo- 


*  "  Etudes  sur  I'^criture,  les  hi6roglyphiesei  la  langue  de  l''Egypte." 
Paris,  1834,  4to.  with  atlas  of  plates,  pp.  16 — 24,  etc. 

X  p.  43. 

t  "  Precis  du  Syst^me,"  p.  241. 

§  "  Lettres  a  M.  le  Due  de  Blacas,  relatives  au  Mus^e  Royal  Egyp- 
tian de  Turin,  Premiere  Lettre."     Paris,  1824,  2de,  1826. 


EARLY    HISTORY  263 

gy  thus  established  and  that  of  Scripture,  would  soon  be  instituted, 
and  in  this  instance,  the  task  was  undertaken  by  the  friends,  not  as 
heretofore  by  the  enemies,  of  revelation.  That  malignant  spirit, 
which  at  the  close  of  the  last  century  had  so  often  induced  able  and 
learned  men  to  direct  the  whole  force  of  their  genius,  and  many 
years  of  deep  research,  to  the  overturning  of  sacred  history,  had  now 
passed  away,  or  at  least  altered  its  form  of  attack. 

The  first  who  appeared  in  the  field  was  M.  Charles  Coquerel,  a- 
Protestant  clerygman  at  Amsterdam,  who,  in  a  pamphlet  of  a  few 
pages,  in  1825,  compared  the  two  chronologies,  and  pointed  out  the 
advantages  which  one  derived  from  the  other.* 

I  believe  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  being  the  second  in  the  field. 
In  making  out  his  Egyptian  chronology,  Champollion-Figeac  found 
it  necessary,  on  one  occasion,  to  depart  from  his  usual  guides,  and 
adopt  the  term  of  years  attributed  to  Horus  by  only  one  document, 
the  Armenian  translation  of  Eusebius's  chronicle.  I  was  fortunate 
enough  to  discover  a  Syriac  fragment  in  the  margin  of  a  Vatican 
MS.  which  coincided  exactly  with  this  view,  and  in  publishing  it,  I 
took  occasion  to  sketch  out  a  comparison  between  the  sacred  and 
the  Egyptian  chronologies.!  I  was  not,  however,  able  to  see  Co- 
querel's  pamphlet  till  several  years  later. 

In  1&"29,  a  learned  and  diligent  investigation  of  this  subject  was 
published  by  M.  Greppo,  Vicar-General  of  the  diocese  of  Belley,  en- 
titled "  Essai  sur  le  Systeme  hieroglyphique  de  M.  Champollion  le 
Jeune,  et  sur  les  avantages  qu'il  ofire  a  la  critique  sacree."  After  a 
clear  and  popular  exposition  of  Champollion's  system,  and  a  few  re- 
marks on  some  philological  connexions  which  it  seems  to  have  with 
early  Hebrew  literature,  the  author  proceeds  to  a  minute  analysis  of 
the  biblical  and  Egyptian  chronology,  endeavoring  to  discover  in  the 
latter  each  of  the  Pharaohs  mentioned  in  Scripture. 

The  same  year,  another  work  upon  the  same  subject  appeared  in 
France,  entitled,  "  Des  Dynasties  Egyptiennes,"  by  M.  Bovet,  for- 
merly archbishop  of  Toulouse.  The  parallel  into  which  he  enters 
of  the  two  chronologies,  is  much  more  minute  than  Greppo's,  but  on 
some  points,   as  in   the  attempt  to  find   the  Hyk-Shos,  or  shepherd 

*  "Lettre  k  M.  Charles  Coquerel  sur  le  Systeme  Hieroglyphique  de 
M.  Champollion  considere  dans  ses  rapports  avec  I'ecriture  saiute.'" 
Par  A.  L.  Coquerel.     Amsterd,  1825. 

f  "  Horse  Syriacee,"  torn.  i.     Rome,  1828.  Particula  iv.  p.  263. 


264  LECTURE  THE  EIGHTH. 

kings  in  the  Jews,  he  does  not  seem  to  me  so  judicious.  He  appears 
to  have  imbibed  much  of  the  opinion  introduced  before  the  revolution, 
by  Boulanger  and  Guerin  de  Rochcr,  that  a  great  part  of  all  ancient 
annals  only  contains  the  history  of  the  Jewish  people.  All  these  au- 
thors have  undertaken  the  same  task  of  demonstrating  what  beautiful 
confirmation  sacred  history  and  chronology  have  received  from  the 
latest  discoveries  in  hieroglyphical  and  Egyptian  learning. 

But,  in  the  mean  time,  great  and  important  advances  have  been 
made  in  the  history  of  the  Egyptian  dynasties,  by  persons  laboring  in 
that  country.  Messrs.  Burton  and  Wilkinson,  the  latter  of  whom 
only  returned  within  a  few  months,  remained  several  years  in  Egypt, 
copying,  printing,  and  illustrating  its  ancient  monuments.  Burton's 
"  Excerpta  Hieroglyphica,"  was  lithographed  at  Cairo;  Wilkinson's 
"  Materia  Hieroglyphica,  containing  the  Egyptian  Pantheon,  and  the 
succession  of  the  Pharaohs,"  was  published  at  Malta  in  1828;  and 
by  reason  of  their  appearing  in  such  remote  places,  I  believe  both 
works  have  been  comparatively  little  known.  Burton's  book  is  valua- 
ble for  our  studies  merely  from  the  accuracy  of  its  drawings,"  es- 
pecially of  the  table  of  Abydos.  Wilkinson's  contains  many  inter- 
esting discoveries  applicable  to  the  illustration  of  Scripture,  and  I 
shall  refer  to  it  more  than  once. 

Every  preceding  work,  however,  has  been  eclipsed  by  the  splendid 
and  accurate  publication  now  in  press  at  Pisa,  under  the  direction  of 
Prof  Rosellini.  He  was  the  companion  of  Champollion  in  the  lite- 
rary expedition  sent,  at  joint  expense,  by  the  French  and  Tuscan 
governments.  ChampoUion's  death  threw  the  entire  task  of  publica- 
tion upon  Rosellini,  who  is  acquitting  himself  of  it  in  a  manner  that 
leaves  nothing  to  regret.  The  monuments  of  the  kings  are  already 
published,  and  two  volumes  of  text  contain  their  illustration  from 
historians  and  other  monuments. 

Before  showing  you  by  examples,  the  advantage  derived  by  sacred 
chronology,  and  the  authenticity  of  Holy  Writ,  from  this  modern 
study,  I  must  lay  before  you  a  highly  interesting  document  connec- 
ted with  our  inquiry.  The  chronological  part  of  the  letters  to  the 
Due  de  Blacas  was  entirely  executed  by  Champollion-Figeac,  as  I 
before  observed ;  but  the  author  of  the  great  discovery,  though  well 
known  to  be  perfectly  sound  in  his  principles,  never  published  any 
thing  tending  to  prove  the  conformity  of  his  chronology  with  that  of 
Scripture.  But  I  have  the  pleasure  of  laying  before  you  an  original 
letter  from  him  in  my  possession,   wherein  he  not  only  indignantly 


EARLY    HISTORY.  265 

repels  the  imputation  that  his  studies  tend  even  slightly  to  impugn 
Scripture  history,  but  endeavors  to  shov/  how  exactly  the  two  histories 
give  and  obtain  mutual  support.  This  interesting  document  I  will 
read  you  in  the  original.     It  is  dated  Paris,  May  23,  1827. 

"  J'aurai  I'honneur  de  vous  addresser  sous  peu  de  jours  une 
brochure,  contenant  le  resume  de  mes  decouvertes  historicjues  et 
chronologiques.  C'est  I'indication  sommaire  des  dates  certaines, 
que  portent  tons  les  monuments  existants  en  Egypte,  et  sur  lesquels 
deit  desormais  se  fonder  la  veritable  chronologie  Egyptienne. 

"  MM.  De  San  (iuintino  et  Lanci  trouveront  la  une  reponsc  per- 
emptoire  a,  leurs  calomnies,  pnisque  j'y  demontre  qu'aucun  monu- 
ment Egyptien  n'est  reellement  anterieur  a  I'an  2,200  avant  notre 
ere.  C'est  certainement  une  tres  haute  antiquite,  mais  elle  n'offre 
rien  de  contraire  aux  traditions  sacrees ;  et  j'ose  dire  meme  qu'elle 
les  confirme  sur  tons  les  points  :  c'est  en  eflfet  en  adoptant  la  chrono- 
logie et  la  succession  des  rois  donnees  par  les  monuments  Egyptiens, 
que  I'histoire  Egyptienne  Concorde  admirablement  avec  les  livres 
saints.  Ainsi  par  example  :  Abraham  arriva  en  Egypte  vers  1900, — 
c'est-a-dire,  sous  les  Rois  Pastcurs.  Des  rois  de  race  Egyptienne 
n'auraient  point  permis  a  un  etranger  d'entrer  dans  leur  pays, — c'est 
egalement  sous  un  roi  pasteur  que  Joseph  est  ministre  en  Egypte,  et 
y  etablit  ses  freres, — ce  qui  n'eut  pu  avoir  lieu  sous  des  rois  de  race 
Egyptienne.  Le  chef  de  la  dynastie  des  Diospolitains,  dite  la  XVIII*, 
est  le  rex  novus  qui  ignorahat  Joseph  de  I'Ecriture  sainte,  lequel 
etant  de  race  Egyptienne,  ne  devait  point  connaitre  Joseph,  ministre 
des  rois  usurpateurs  ;  c'est  celui  qui  reduit  les  Hebreux  en  esclavage. 
Da  captivite  dura  autant  que  la  XVIII''  dynastie;  et  ce  fut  sous 
Ramses  V,  Gr  Amenophis,  au  commencement  du  XV°  siecle,  que 
Moyse  delivra  les  Hebreux.  Ceci  se  passait  dans  I'adoJescence  de 
Sesostris,  qui  succeda  immediatementa  son  pere,  et  fit  ses  conquetes 
en  Asie  pendant  que  Moyse  et  Israel  erraient  pendant  quarante  ans 
dans  le  desert.  C'est  pour  cda  que  les  livres  saints  nc  doivent  point 
parler  de  ce  grand  conquerant.  Tous  les  autres  rois  d'Egypte  nom- 
mes  dans  la  Bible,  se  retrouvent  sur  les  monuments  Egyptiens,  dans 
le  meme  ordre  de  succession,  et  aux  epoques  precises,  oil  les  livres 
saints  les  placent.  J'ajouterai  meme  que  la  Bible  en  ecrit  mieuxles 
veritables  noms,  que  ne  I'ont  fait  les  historiens  Grecs.  Je  serais 
curieux  de  savoir  ce  qu'  auront  a  repondre  ceux  qui  ont  malicieuse- 
ment  avance  que  les  etudes  Egyptiennes  tendent  a  alterer  le  creyance 
dans  les  documents  historiques  fournis  par  les  livres  de  Moyse. 
34 


266  LECTURE  THE  EIGHTH. 

L'application  de  ma  decouverte  vieiit,  au  contraire,  invinciblement  i 
leur  appui. 

"  Jc  compose  dans  ce  momciit-ci  le  texte  explicatif  des  Obilis- 
ques  de  Rome,  que  Sa  Saintete  a  daigne  faire  graver  k  ses  frais. 
C'est  iin  vrai  service  qu'Elle  rend  a  la  science,  et  je  serais  heurcux 
que  vous  voulussiez  bien  mettre  <\  ses  pieds  rhommage  de  ma  recon- 
naissance profonde." 

But  it  is  high  time  to  lay  before  you  the  results  of  these  combined 
labors ;  and  always  anxious  to  select  from  the  latest  and  best  writers, 
I  will  run  through  the  connexions  between  sacred  and  Egyptian  his- 
tory as  given  in  the  different  parts  of  Rosellini's  work,  to  show  you 
what  new  lights  and  striking  confirmation  the  former  has  received 
from  these  researches,  and  how  groundless  were  the  alarms  of  their 
early  antagonists.  In  the  first  place  I  must  observe  that  Rosellini 
takes  the  Scripture  chronology  as  a  necessary  basis  to  all  his  calcu- 
lations ;  so  far  that  he  is  willing  to  reject  every  part  of  the  early  his- 
tory of  Egypt  which  cannot  enter  within  the  limits  prescribed  by 
Genesis.* 

The  first  point  in  Scripture  on  which  the  labors  of  Rosellini 
throw  new  light,  is  the  origin  and  signification  of  the  title  of  Pharaoh  ; 
though  on  this  point  he  may  be  said  to  have  received  a  hint  from  our 
learned  countrymen,  Wilkinson  and  Major  Felix.  By  several  analo- 
gies between  the  Hebrew  and  Egyptian  letters,  he  shows  the  title  to 
be  identical  with  that  of  Phra  or  Phre,  the  sun,  which  is  prefixed  to 
the  names  of  the  kings  upon  their  monuments. t  Coming  down  to  a 
later  period,  we  have  an  extraordinary  coincidence  between  the  facts 
related  in  the  history  of  Joseph,  and  the  state  of  Egypt  at  the  period 
when  he  and  his  family  entered  it.  We  are  told  in  the  book  of  Gen- 
esis, that  Joseph,  upon  presenting  his  father  and  brethren  to  Phara- 
oh, was  careful  to  tell  him  that  they  were  shepherds,  and  that  their 
trade  had  been  to  feed  cattle,  and  that  they  had  brought  their  flocks 
and  herds  with  them.J  But  in  his  instructions  to  them  there  seems 
to  be  an  extraordinary  contradiction  :— "  When  Pharaoh  shall  call 
on  you  and  say  '  What  is  your  occupation,'  ye  shall  say,  '  Thy  ser- 
vants' trade  hath  been  about  cattle,  from  our  youth  even  until  now, 
both  we  and  also  our  fathers' ;  that  ye  may  dwell  in  the  land  of  Go- 


*  "  I  Moniimenti  dell'  Egittoe  della  Nubia."  Vol.  i,  p.  111. 
t  I'age  117.  I  Gen.  45:  33,  34.  47:  1. 


EARLY    HISTORY.  267 

shen,  for  every  shepherd  is  an  abomination  to  the  Egyptians."*  Now, 
why  make  it  such  a  point  to  tell  Pharaoh  that  his  family  were  all 
shepherds,  because  all  shepherds  were  an  abomination  to  the  Egyp- 
tians? This  contradiction  is  removed  by  the  circumstance,  that 
when  Joseph  was  in  Egypt,  the  greater  part  of  its  kingdom  was  un- 
der the  dominion  of  the  Hyk-shos,  or  shepherd  kings,  a  foreign  race, 
probably  of  Scythian  origin,  who  had  seized  upon  the  kingdom. 
Thus  we  have  it,  at  once,  explained  how  strangers,  of  whom  the 
Egyptians  were  so  jealous,  should  be  admitted  into  power ;  how  the 
king  should  be  even  glad  of  new  settlers,  occupying  considerable 
tracts  of  his  territory  ;  and  how  the  circumstance  of  their  being  shep- 
herds, though  odious  to  the  conquered  people,  would  endear  them  to 
a  sovereign  whose  family  followed  the  same  occupation.  These 
Hyk-Shos  are  supposed  by  Champollion  to  be  represented  by  the  fig- 
ures painted  on  the  soles  of  Egyptian  slippers,  in  token  of  contempt.t 
By  this  state  of  Egypt  we  can  also  more  easily  explain  the  measures 
pursued  by  Joseph  during  the  famine,  to  bring  all  the  land  and  per- 
sons of  the  Egyptians  into  a  feudal  dependance  upon  their  sovereign. | 
And  before  leaving  this  period,  I  may  observe  that  the  name  given 
to  Joseph  of  "  Saviour  of  the  world,"  has  been  well  explained  by 
Rosellini  from  the  Egyptian  language. 

After  the  death  of  Joseph,  the  Scripture  tells  us  that  a  king  arose 
who  knew  not  Joseph.  This  strong  expression  could  hardly  be  ap- 
plied to  any  lineal  successor  of  a  monarch  who  had  received  such 
signal  benefits  from  him.  It  would  lead  us  rather  to  suppose  that  a 
new  dynasty,  hostile  to  the  preceding,  had  obtained  possession  of  the 
throne.  "  The  Scripture,"  says  James  of  Edessa,  "  does  not  mean 
one  particular  Pharaoh,  when  it  says  a  new  king,  but  all  the  dynas- 
ty of  that  generation. "§ 

Now,  this  is  exactly  the  case.  For,  a  few  years  later,  the  Hyk- 
shos,  or  Shepherd  Kings,  who  correspond  to  the  17th  Egyptian  dy- 
nasty, were  expelled  from  Egypt  by  Amosis,  called  on  monuments 
Amenophtiph,  the  founder  of  the  18th  or  Diospolitan  dynasty.  He 
would  naturally  refuse  to  recognize  the  services  of  Joseph,  and  would 
consider  all  his  family  as  necessarily  his  enemies  ;  and  thus,  too, 
we  understand  his  fears  lest  they  should  join  the  enemies  of  Egypt, 

*  lb.  46:  34,  cf.  47: 6,  11. 

f  Champollion,  Lettre  i.  pp.  57,  58.  J  Rosellini,  ib.  p.  180. 

§  Cod.  VcU.  Syr.  104.  fol.  44. 


'268  LECTURE    THE    EIGHTH. 

if  any  war  fell  out  with  them.*  For  the  Hyk-Shos,  after  their  expul- 
sion, continued  long  to  harass  the  Egyptians,  by  attempts  to  recover 
their  lost  dominion.t  Oppression  was,  of  course,  the  means  em- 
ployed to  weaken  first,  and  then  extinguish,  the  Hebrew  population. 
The  children  of  Israel  were  employed  in  building  up  the  cities  of 
Egypt.  It  has  been  observed  by  Champollion,  that  many  of  the  edi- 
fices erected  by  the  18th  dynasty  are  upon  the  ruins  of  older  build- 
ings, which  had  been  manifestly  destroyed.^  This  circumstance, 
with  the  absence  of  older  monuments  in  the  parts  of  Egypt  occupied 
by  the  Hyk-Shos,  confirms  the  testimony  of  historians,  that  these 
usurpers  destroyed  the  monuments  of  native  princes  ;  and  thus  was 
an  opportunity  given  to  the  restorers  of  a  native  sovereignty  to  employ 
those  whom  they  considered  their  enemies'  allies,  in  repairing  their 
injuries.  To  this  period  belong  the  magnificent  edifices  of  Karnak, 
Luxor,  and  Medinet-Abu.  At  the  same  time,  we  have  the  express 
testimony  of  Diodorus  Siculus,  that  it  was  the  boast  of  the  Egyptian 
kings,  that  no  Egyptian  had  put  his  hand  to  the  work,  but  that  for- 
eigners had  been  compelled  to  do  it,§ 

It  was  under  a  king  of  this  dynasty,  according  to  Rosellini,  of 
Ramses,  that  the  Children  of  Israel  went  out  from  Egypt.  The 
Scripture  narrative  describes  this  event  as  connected  with  the  de- 
struction of  a  Pharaoh,  and  so  the  chronological  calculation  adopted 
by  Rosellini,  would  make  it  coincide  with  the  last  year  of  tfiat  mon- 
arch's reign.  1 1 


*  Exod.  1:  10.     Also  Manetho,  ap.  "Joseph. Cent.  Appion."  Lib.  i. 

f  Rosell.  p.  291. 

I  Champollion,  2de  Lett.  pp.  7,  10,  17. 

§  14  Tom.  ii.  p.  445.  ed.  Havercarnp. 

§  Lib.  i.  p.  6(i,  Ed.  Wesseling.  I  omit  noticing  the  opinion,  former- 
ly held  by  Josopliiis  and  others,  (ubi  sup.)  repeated  by  many  modern 
writers,  as  Marshum  (Canon  JE^^ypt.  Lips.  1676,  pp.  90,  106.)  and  Ros- 
enmiiller,  (Scholia  in  Vet.  Test.  Pa.  i.  vol.  ii.  p.  8,  ed.  tert.)  and  upheld 
even  since  the  discovery  of  the  hieroglyphical  alphabet  by  a  few,  as  Bo- 
vet  and  Wilkinson  :  (Materia  Hkros;lyphica,  Malta,  1828,  part  ii.  p.  80) 
that  the  slieplicrd  kings  were  no  other  than  the  Children  of  Israel. 
This  opinion  ap|)ears  now  quite  untenable,  and  not  likely  to  find  many 
supporters.  The  Hyk-Shos,  as  represented  on  monuments,  have  the 
features,  color,  and  other  dislinciives  of  the  Scythian  tribes. 

II  As  the  Scripture  speaks,  with  the  exception  of  one  poetical  pas- 
sage, of  the  destruction  of  Pharaoh's  host,  rather  than  of  the  monarch's, 
somti  writers,  as  Wilkinson,  (p.  4,  Remarks,  at  the  end  of  Materia  Hie-. 


EARLY    HISTORY.  269 

At  this  point  we  are  met  with  a  serious  difficulty.  Ancient  his- 
torians speak  of  Sesostris  as  of  a  mighty  conqueror,  who,  issuing  from 
Egypt,  and  passing  along  the  coast  of  Palestine,  subjected  innumera- 
ble nations  to  his  sceptre.  The  Scripture  never  once  alludes  to  this 
great  invasion,  which  must  have  passed  over  the  country  inhabited 
by  the  Israelites.  And  this  silence  has  been  charged  against  sacred 
history,  as  involving  a  serious  omission,  ruinous  to  its  authenticity. 
For  a  long  time  it  was  supposed,  that  the  Sethos  iEgyptus  of  Mane- 
tho  was  identical  with  the  Sesostris  of  Herodotus.  Even  Champolli- 
on,  from  a  want  of  sufficient  monuments,  had  fallen  into  an  error  on 
this  point,  and  subsequently  changed  his  opinion.  Rosellini  has 
taken  great  pains  to  prove  that  the  two  were  distinct,  and  by  this  dis- 
covery entirely  removes  all  difficulty.  For  he  shows  that  the  great 
conqueror,  Ramses  Sethos  iEgyptus,  a  totally  different  person  from 
Ramses  Sesostris,  or  the  Sesoosis  of  Herodotus  and  Diodorus,  was 
the  sovereign  who  conducted  that  mighty  expedition,  and  founded 
the  19th  Egyptian  dynasty.  As  the  Israelites  had  left  Egypt  shortly 
before  the  conclusion  of  the  18th,  it  follows  that  the  exploits  of  this  con- 
queror, and  his  passage  through  Palestine,  happened  exactly  during 
their  forty  years'  wandering  through  the  wilderness,  and  could  have 
no  influence  on  the  state  of  that  people,  and  consequently  needed 
not  to  be  recorded  in  their  national  annals.* 

Connected  with  this  application,  is  a  curious  and  interesting  mon- 
ument, which  has  for  some  time  formed  the  topic  of  discussion 
among  our  Roman  antiquaries,  and  deserves  a  passing  notice.  He- 
rodotus mentions  that  the  great  conqueror  Sesostris  marked  the  route 
which  he  took  by  a  series  of  monuments,  some  of  which  he  himself 
saw  in  Palestine,  while  others  existed  in  Ionia. t  Maundrell  was  the 
first  to  notice  "  some  strange  figures  of  men,  carved  in  the  natural 
rock,  in  mezzo  relievo,  and  in  bigness  equal  to  life,"  on  the  moun- 
tain which  overhangs  the  ford  across  the  river  Lycus,  or  the  Nahr-el- 
Kelb,  not  far  from  Beiroot. 

Champollion,  in  his  "  Precis,"  noticed  this  monument  as  Egyp- 
tian, and  as  appertaining  to  Ramses  or  Sesostris.     It  appears  that  his 


roglyph.)  and  Greppo,  to  whom  I  cannot  now  refer,  maintain,  that  we 
need  not  necessarily  suppose  the  death  of  a  king  to  coincide  with  the 
exit  from  Egypt.  In  Roseilini's  scheme  this  departure  from  the  re- 
ceived interpretation  is  not  wanted. 

*  Roseli.  p.  305.  f  Lib.  ii.  c.  105. 


270  LECTURE  THE  EIGHTH. 

information  came  from  a  sketch  made  of  it  by  Mr.  Bankes  ;  but  an 
earlier  one,  by  Mr.  Wyse,  had  led  Sir  W.  Gell  to  the  same  discovery 
of  the  hero  whom  it  represents.  Mr.  Levinge,  at  Sir  William's  re- 
quest, examined  the  monument,  and  pronounced  that  the  hieroglyph- 
ical  legend  was  quite  defaced.*  Mr.  Lajard  published  a  further  no- 
tice, from  a  sketch  by  MM.  Guys,  but  turned  his  attention  chiefly  to 
the  Persian  monuments  which  are  on  the  same  rock.  Later,  he  col- 
lected all  the  information  he  could  from  M.  Callier,  who  had  not, 
however,  any  drawings  to  illustrate  his  description.!  Mr.  Bonomi  at 
length  fully  investigated  this  interesting  matter,  and  his  observations, 
with  the  drawings  that  accompany  them,  both  published  by  Mr.  Land- 
seer,  leave  little  more  to  be  desired. 

Ii  appears,  then,  that  on  the  side  of  the  road,  which  passes  along 
the  side  of  a  mountain  skirted  by  the  Lycus,  are  ten  ancient  monu- 
ments. Two  of  these  comparatively  of  small  interest,  being  a  Latin 
and  an  Arabic  inscription,  regarding  some  repairs  done  to  the  road. 
Of  the  others,  Mr.  Bonomi  speaks  as  follows  : — "  The  most  ancient, 
but,  unfortunately,  the  most  corroded  of  the  antiquities,  are  three 
Egyptian  tablets.  On  these  may  be  traced,  in  more  places  than  one, 
the  name,  expressed  in  hieroglyphics,  of  Ramses  the  Second;  to  the 
period  of  whose  reign,  any  connoisseur  in  Egyptian  art  would  have 
attributed  them,  even  if  the  evidence  of  the  name  had  been  wanting, 
from  the  beautiful  proportions  of  the  tablets,  and  their  curvetto  mould- 
ings."J  I  will  content  myself  with  mentioning,  that  beside  this  is  a 
Persian  rilievo,  representing  a  king,  with  astronomical  emblems,  and 
covered  with  an  arrow-headed  inscription.  Of  this  precious  monu- 
ment a  cast  was  made,  with  great  difficulty  by  Mr.  Bonomi. §  Mr. 
Landseer  supposes  it  to  represent  Salmanasor,  or  some  other  early 
Assyrian  invader.  1|  The  Chev.  Bunsen,  without  having  inspected 
the  cast  or  drawing,  conjectures,  with  great  appearance  of  reason, 
that  its  hero  is  Cambyses.1] 


*  "  Biilletino  dell'  Institirto  di  Correspondenza  Archeologica,"  Gen- 
naro,  1834.  No.  l.  b.  p.  30.  No.  VL  Luglio,  p.  155. 

t  Ibid,  and  "  Bulletino,"  No.  III.  a.  Marzo.  1825.  p.  23. 

I  "  Landseer's  Sabean  Researches  continued," Z»onrf.  1835,  p.  5.    See 
the  drawing  prefixed  to  liis  essay. 

§  The  original  cast  is  at  present  in  possession  of  my  friend,  W. 
Scoles,  Esq. 

II  lb.  p.  14.     , 

IT  "  Bulletino,"  No.  III.  a.  1835,  p.  21. 


EARLY  HISTORY.  271 

But  to  return  to  our  Egyptians;— Champollion,  and  after  him 
Wilkinson,  considered  the  Sesostris  of  history  to  be  identical  with 
Ramses  II.  to  whom  Bonomi  attributes  the  hieroglyphical  legend  on 
the  Syriac  monument  ;*  but,  probably,  he  added  the  number  to  his 
name  only  on  account  of  that  received  idea.  Champollion  changed 
his  opinion,  I  believe,  before  his  death,  and  was  followed,  as  you 
have  seen,  by  Rosellini.  But  M.  Bunsen,  who  has  long  been  occupy- 
ing himself  with  an  attempt  to  unravel  the  complications  of  Egyptian 
chronology,  has  observed  that  Ramses  III.  is  undoubtedly  the  Sesos- 
tris of  the  Greeks  :  and  that  there  is  a  mistake  of  three  or  four  cen- 
turies in  the  date  assigned  by  Champollion  to  the  commencement  of 
his  reign. t 

Proceeding  downwards  in  order  of  time,  Rosellini,  with  all  other 
chronologists,  places  the  5th  year  of  Rehoboam,  when  Shishak  over- 
ran the  kingdom  of  Judah,  and  conquered  Jerusalem,  in  the  year 
971  B.  C.J  Now,  in  Egyptian  monuments,  we  find  that  Sheshonk 
began  his  reign  with  the  2l3t  dynasty,  precisely  at  the  same  period.§ 
Rosellini  has  published  many  monuments  of  Shishak,  one  of 
which  particularly  affords  the  strongest  confirmation  of  sacred,  by 
profane  history,  hitherto  any  where  discovered.  But  this  morning  I 
am  treating  only  of  pure  chronology,  and  must,  therefore,  reserve 
this  interesting  monument  for  our  next  meeting,  when  we  shall  dis- 
cuss archaeology. 

The  Zarach  of  the  Second  book  of  Chronicles,  (14:  9—15)  has 
been  supposed  by  Greppo  and  others  to  be  the  Osorchon  of  monu- 
ments. Rosellini,  however,  rejects  this  opinion,  though,  I  confess,  I 
do  not  think  his  reasons  very  satisfactory  :  they  consist  in  the  slight 
difference  of  the.  name,  and  in  his  being  called  an  Ethiopian,  a  cir- 
cumstance which  rather  confirms  the  coincidence,  for  the  dynasty  to 
which  he  belonged  was  the  Bubastian,  considered  by  Champollion, 
Ethiopian.il  

*  "Lettres  dcrites  d''Egypte  et  de  Nubie  en  1S28  et  1829."  Par. 
1333,  pp.  362,  438.  Wilkinson's  "  Topography  of  Thebes,"  Lond.  1 835, 
p.  51  ;  also  "  Materia  Hieroglyph." 

f  "  Bulletino,"  ib.  p.  23.  t  3  or  1  Kings  14:  25. 

§  Rosell.  p.  83.     See  also  Ciiampollion  2de  Lett.  p.  120,  164.     .Also 
his  Letter  to  Mr.  G.  A.  Brown,  in  "  Les  principaux  monumens  Egypti- 
ens  du  Musee  Brittanique,  par  le  T.  H.  Charles  Yorke,  et  M.  le  Col.M. 
Leake,"  Lond.  1827,  p.  23. 
Jj  Ubi  BUji.  p.  122. 


272  LECTURE    THE    EIGHTH. 

Rosellini,  however,  has  added  new  monuments  to  those  already 
furnished  by  Champollion,  as  the  commemorating  two  other  kings 
mentioned  later  in  sacred  history  : — Sua,  the  Sevechusof  the  Greeks 
and  the  Shabak  of  monuments,  commemorated  in  the  palaces  of 
Luxor  and  Karnak,  and  by  a  statue  in  the  Villa  Albani ;  and  Teraha, 
commemorated  at  Medinet-Abu,  under  the  name  of  Tahrak.* 

To  conclude  these  chronological  details,  one  of  the  most  striking 
confirmations  of  Scriptural  accuracy  yet  remains.  In  Ezekiel  29:  30 
32,  and  Jerem.  44:  30,  we  have  a  donation  made  by  God,  of  Pha- 
raoh and  his  land  to  Nebuchadonosor,  and  "  there  shall  be  no  more 
a  prince  of  the  land  of  Egypt."  Yet  we  find  mention  made  of  Ama- 
sis  by  Herodotus  and  Diodorus,  as  king  of  Egypt,  after  that  period. 

How  are  these  two  facts  to  be  reconciled?  By  his  monuments, 
first  published  by  Mr.  Wilkinson.  Upon  them  Amasis  never  re- 
ceives the  Egyptian  titles  of  royalty,  but,  instead  of  a  pronomon,  has 
the  Semitic  title  of  Melek,  showing  that  he  reigned  on  behalf  of  a 
foreign  lord.t  Two  circumstances  put  this,  I  may  say,  beyond  a 
doubt.  1st.  Diodorus  tells  us  that  Amasis  was  of  low  birth,  conse- 
quently, he  did  not  inherit  the  kingdom.  2dly.  A  son  of  Amasis 
seems  to  have  governed  Egypt  under  Darius,  for  he  bears  the  same 
title.  Now  certainly,  under  the  Persian  conquest  there  was  no  na- 
tive king,  for  monuments  bear  the  names  of  the  Persian  monarchs. 
The  title  Melek  will  thus  be  proved  to  denote  vice-regal  authority  ; 
which  again,  is  still  further  confirmed  by  a  monument  published  by 
Rosellini,  who  does  not  seem  to  have  observed  Wilkinson's  remark. 
This  is  an  inscription  at  Kosseir,  belonging  to  the  times  of  the  Per- 
sian domination,  recording  "  the  Melek  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt."} 
Thus  is  a  serious  difiiculty  removed  ;  Amasis  was  not  a  king,  but 
only  a  viceroy. 

But  it  is  time  to  turn  to  another  application  of  Egyptian  re- 
searches ;  to  the  illustration  of  its  astronomical  representations.  The 
attention  to  Egyptian  monuments  and  literature,  in  modern  times, 
has  been  indeed  fertile  in  objections  to  sacred  history,  which,  like  every 
other  study,  it  has  overthrown  in  its  advance.  The  controversy  up- 
on the  zodiacs  of  Dendera,  the  ancient  Tentyris,  and  Esneh,  or  La- 
topolis,  is  a  remarkable  proof  of  this  assertion. 

The  expedition  into  Egypt  under  Napoleon,  which  shed  as  much 


*  Pp.  107,  109.     Wilkinson,  pp.  98,  99. 

f  "  Materia  Hierogl."  p.  100,  101.  \  Page  243. 


EARLY    HISTORY. 


273 


lustre  on  the  literary  ardor  of  France,  as  it  cast  shadow  upon  her 
martial  prowess,  first  made  us  acquainted  with  these  curious  monu- 
ments. At  Dendera  were  found  two  ;  one  was  an  oblong  painting, 
formed  by  two  parallel  but  separate  bands,  enclosed  within  two  mon- 
strous female  figures.  Upon  these  bands,  in  an  inner  sub-division, 
were  disposed  the  zodiacal  signs,  with  numerous  mythological  repre- 
sentations ;  on  the  outside  were  a  series  of  boats,  representing  the 
decans  of  each  sign.  This  zodiac  was  painted  upon  the  portico  of  a 
temple,  where,  like  all  the  others,  it  occupied  the  ceiling.  The  sec- 
ond zodiac,  or  rather  planisphere,  is  circular,  and  has  been  trans- 
ported to  France,  from  an  upper  chamber  of  the  same  temple,  by 
MM.  Saulnier  and  Lelorrain.  Esneh  contributed  also  two  zodiacs, 
one  from  the  greater,  the  second  from  the  smaller  of  its  temples. 
These  two,  with  the  rectangular  zodiac  of  Dendera,  can  alone  claim 
particular  attention ;  the  circular  planisphere  must  follow  the  fate  of 
the  zodiac  painted  in  the  same  temple. 

No  sooner  were  representations  of  these  monuments  published, 
than  Europe,  and  particularly  France,  teemed  with  memoirs  and  dis- 
sertations discussing  their  antiquity.  It  was  in  general  taken  for 
granted,  that  they  represented  the  state  of  the  heavens  at  the  period 
when  they  were  projected,  and  when  the  edifices  which  they  adorned, 
were  erected.  Some  discovered  in  them  the  point  in  which  the  sol- 
stitial colures  cut  the  ecliptic  at  that  time,  and,  with  Burckhardt,  at- 
tributed to  the  great  zodiac  of  Esneh  the  frightful  antiquity  of  7000, 
to  that  of  Dendera  of  4000  years ;  while  Dupois,  on  the  same  premi- 
ses, stinted  the  latter  to  3562.*  Others  assumed  that  they  repre- 
sented the  state  of  the  heavens  at  the  commencement  of  a  Sothic  pe- 
riod, and,  like  Sir  W.  Drummond,  assigned  to  that  of  Dendera 
1322,t  to  that  of  the  great  temple  of  Esneh  2800  years  before  our 
era.J  A  third  class,  in  fine,  saw  in  them  the  heliacal  rising  of  Sinus 
at  some  given  period,  and  concluded,  with  Fourier,  that  the  zodiacs 
of  Esneh  were  constructed  2500,  that  of  Dendera  2000  years  before 
Christ,^  or  with  Nouet,  that  the  latter  was  traced  2500,  the  greater 
of  the  former  4600  years  anterior  to  that  era.  1 1     I  need  not  weary  you 


*  See  Cuvier,  ubi  sup.  p.  251. 

f  "  Memoir  on  the  antiquity  of  the  Zodiacs  of  Esneh  and  Dendera," 
Lond.  1821,  p.  141,  vid.  p.  7. 

I  lb.  p.  59.  §  See  Guigniaut,  p.  919. 

II  Volney's  "Recherches  nouvelles,"  3e  partie,  Par.  1814,  p.  33G.  ^ 

35 


274  LECTURE  THE  EIGHTH. 

furtlier,  by  enumerating  such  systems  as  these.  The  same  basis  led 
different  speculators  to  opposite  conclusions  ;  and  error  thus  betrayed 
itself  by  the  characteristic  variety  of  its  hues. 

Early  in  the  contest,  there  was  a  class  of  investigators  who  ven- 
tured to  suggest,  that  the  alarming  antiquity  thus  conceded  to  these 
curious  monuments  should  be  examined,  not  upon  astronomical,  but 
on  archajological  principles.  The  venerable  and  learned  Monsignor 
Testa,  and  the  celebrated  antiquary  Visconti,  were  among  the  num- 
ber *  The  latter  remarked,  in  particular,  that  the  temple  of  Dende- 
ra,  though  of  Egyptian  architecture,  bore  characteristic  marks  which 
could  not  be  more  ancient  than  the  Ptolemies,  and  that  Greek  in- 
scriptions upon  it  referred  to  a  Caesar,  who,  he  thought,  must  be  Au- 
gustus or  Tiberius.  This  reasoning,  however,  was  overlooked  for 
twenty  years,  and  astronomical  illustrations  were  alone  admitted. 
Mr.  Bankes,  during  his  visit  to  Egypt,  paid  considerable  attention  to 
this  interesting  investigation  ;  and  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  David  Baillie, 
communicated  his  grounds  for  believing  these  temples  to  be  of  no 
greater  antiquity  than  the  reigns  of  Adrian  and  Antoninus  Pius.t 
He  remarked,  that  while  the  capitals  of  the  most  ancient  columns  of 
Thebes  are  a  simple  bell,  and  placed  on  Polygonal  or  fluted  shafts, 
those  of  Esneh  and  Dendera  are  laboriously  rich  with  foliage  and 
fruit.  More  than  this,  the  hieroglyphics  upon  the  columns  are  not 
certainly  Egyptian,  for  Mr.  Bankes  found  an  inscription,  stating  that 
they  were  traced  in  the  reign  of  Antoninus. | 

The  archseological  arguments,  however,  for  the  modern  construc- 
tion of  these  monuments,  received  their  full  development  from  the 
hand  of  M.  Letronne.  This  learned  scholar  collected  all  necessary 
information  from  the  publications  and  reports  of  travellers,  regarding 
their  architecture,  and  illustrated  the  inscriptions  still  existing  upon 
them.  MM.  IJuyot  and  Gau  furnished  him  with  interesting  particu- 
lars on  the  former  subject.  Among  other  facts  they  proved  from  its 
style,  and  from  the  colors  employed,  that  the  Pronaon  of  the  small 
temple  of  Esneh,  in  which  the  zodiac  is  painted,  is  of  the  same  date 
with  the  temple  itself.  Now,  an  inscription,  probably  the  same  allu- 
ded to  by  Mr.  Bankes,  was  copied  by  these  artists  from  a  column  of 


*  "Tfif^ta  sopra  due  zodiac)  novellarnente  scoperti  nell'  Egitto." 
Rome,  1802.     Visconti  in  Landier'.s  llorodotu.s,  vol.  ii.  p.  5tj7.  seqq. 

t  Sir  W.  Drummond's  Memoir,  p.  56. 

}  11>.  p.  .57.  This,  I  suppose,  is  meant  of  the  temple  at  the  north  of 
JlBneh,  known  by  the  name  of  the  small  temple. 


EARLY    HISTORY. 


275 


the  latter,  in  which  it  was  stated  that  two  Egyptians  caused  the 
paintings  to  be  executed  in  the  tenth  year  of  Antoninus — the  147th 
after  Christ.*  Such,  then,  is  the  date  of  the  small  zodiac  of  Esneh, 
to  which  an  age  had  been  assigned  of  from  two  to  three  thousand 
years  anterior  to  Christ.  The  temple  of  Dendera  has  shared  the 
same  fate.  A  Greek  inscription  on  its  portico,  which  had  been  over- 
looked, declares  it  to  be  dedicated  to  the  safety  of  Tiberius.t 

While  Letronne  was  thus  occupied  in  examining  the  Greek  in- 
scriptions on  these  supposed  vestiges  of  hoary  antiquity,  M.  Chara- 
pollion  was  maturing  his  alphabet  of  hieroglyphics,  and  soon  con- 
firmed, by  his  researches,  the  conclusion  of  his  friend.  On  the 
pronaon  of  the  temple  of  Dendera,  he  also  read  the  hieroglyphical 
legend  of  Tiberius.|  On  the  circular  planisphere  of  the  same  temple, 
he  decyphered  the  letters  AOTKRTR  ;  or,  supplying  the  vowels, 
JTTOKPAT^P,i\\e  title  which  Nero  takes  upon  his  Egyptian 
medals.§  Only  the  zodiac  of  the  great  temple  of  Esneh  remains,  and 
M.  Champollion  has  disposed  of  its  antiquity,  together  with  the  tem- 
ple on  which  it  is  painted,  in  an  equally  unceremonious  manner. 
When  at  Naples,  in  August  1826,  Sir  William  Gell  communicated 
to  him  accurate  drawings  of  the  Esneh  zodiac,  taken  by  Messrs. 
Wilkinson  and  Cooper  ;  and  he  discovered  that  this  monument  was 
dedicated,  not  as  the  astronomers  would  have  conjectured,  under  the 
reign  of  some  rough-named  Egyptian  Pharaoh,  but  under  the  Roman 
Emperor  Commodus.H  The  sculptures  of  this  temple  he  had  before 
demonstrated  to  have  been  executed  in  the  reign  of  Claudius.^ 

It  was  with  justice,  then,  that  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  the 
Viscount  de  la  Rochefaucauld,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the  king  of 
France,  dated  May  15th,  1826,  attributed  to  M.  Champollion,  the 
merit  of  having  decided  the  controversy,  in  the  opinion  of  every  un- 
prejudiced person. 

"  The  public  suffrage,"  says  he, "  of  the  most  distinguished  learn- 
ed men  in  Europe  has  consecrated  results,  the  application  of  which 
has  already  been  very  useful  to  the  truth  of  history— andjheassu^- 

*"Recherches  pour  servir  a  Phistoire  de  I'Ejiypte  pendant  la  do- 
mination des  Grecs  et  des  Roraains."     Paris,  1823,  p.  456. 

\  lb.  p.  180. 

\  Lettrc  a  M.  Leiromie,  ut  the  end  of  Observations,  etc.  as  below, 
p.  111. 

§  Lettre  a  M.  Dacier,  p.  25,  Letronne,  p.  xxxviii. 

(1  Bulletin  Universel,  id  sup.  to  vi.  ^  Letronne. 


276  LECTUUE  THE  EIGHTH. 

ance  of  sound  literary  doctrines.  For  your  Majesty  has  not  forgot 
that  the  discoveries  of  M.  Champollion  have  demonstrated,  without 
opposition,  that  the  Zodiac  of  Dendera,  which  appeared  to  alarm 
public  belief,  is  only  a  work  of  the  Roman  epoch  in  Egypt." 

It  was  not,  however,  to  be  expected,  that  the  resistance  of  adver- 
saries would  be  fully  overcome  by  these  vigorous  attacks.  Too  much 
learning  had  been  expended  in  the  support  of  elaborate  theories,  too 
much  confidence  had  been  exhibited  in  asserting  favorite  systems, 
for  their  authors  to  yield  them  up  without  a  pang,  and  in  some  in- 
stances without  a  struggle. 

"Difficile  est  longum  subito  deponere  arnorcrn."* 

The  temples,  it  might  be  granted,  were  indeed,  proved  to  be 
modern,  and  consequently  the  zodiacs  which  they  bear;  but  the 
latter  must  have  been  copied  from  others  of  an  ancient  date.  ''  Thus, 
the  original  scheme  of  the  round  zodiac  of  Dendera  must  have  been 
formed  at  least  seven  centuries  before  our  era."  Such  was  the  de- 
fence raised  by  the  late  Sir  William  Drummond,  in  his  lastwork,t 
and  when  he  penned  it,  he  cannot  have  been  acquainted  with  the 
learned  dissertation,  published  a  few  months  before,  in  which  Le- 
tronne  gave  the  finishing  stroke  to  this  and  every  other  defence  of 
the  absurd  antiquity  of  the  zodiacs. | 

The  enterprising  traveller,  Cailliaud,  on  his  return  from  Egypt, 
brought,  among  other  rarities,  a  mummy  discovered  at  Thebes,  and 
distinguished  by  several  peculiarities.  The  two  most  important 
were,  a  Greek  legend  much  defaced,  and  a  zodiac,  very  exactly  re- 
sembling that  of  Dendera.§  In  the  dissertation  to  which  I  have 
alluded,  M.  Letronne  undertakes  the  illustration  of  these  two  points, 
and  their  application  to  the  zodiacal  representations  in  the  Egyptian 
temples.  The  inscription  he  restores  with  a  felicity  that  must  satis- 
fy the  most  supercilious  critic,  and  discovers  the  mummy  to  be  that 

*  Catul.  Car.  Ixxvi.  13. 

t  "  Origiiies;  or  Remarks  on  the  origin  of  several  Empires,"  vol.  ii. 
p.  227.  Lond.  1825. 

I  "  Observations  critiques  et  arclicologiques  sur  I'ohjet  des  Rc|)ri;- 
sentatioiis  Zodiacales,"  Paris,  Mars.  Id24.  Sir  VV.  Druumioiid's  dedica- 
tion is  dated  Sept.  17,  1824. 

§  "  Voyage  a  Meroe,  au  Flcuve  Blam:,  etc."  Par.  1823.  fol.  vol.  ii. 
pi.  l.xxi. 


EARLY    HISTORY.  277 

of  Petemenon,  son  of  Soter  and  Cleopatra,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years,  four  months,  and  twenty-two  days,  in  the  nineteenth 
year  of  Trajan,  the  8th  Payni,  or  June  2,  a.  n.  116.* 

The  zodiac  on  the  interior  of  the  case,  I  Iiave  already  said,  re- 
sembles that  of  Dendera.  Like  it,  protected  by  a  disproportioned 
female  figure,  whose  arms  are  extended,  it  exhibits  the  zodiacal  signs 
in  two  parallel  bands  ascending  and  descending  precisely  in  the 
same  order,  and  in  a  similar  style  of  design.  Even  the  cow  reposing 
in  a  boat,  and  emblematic  of  Isis  or  of  Sirius,  is  not  wanting.  The 
identity,  therefore,  of  the  two  representations,  may  be  said  to  be  fully 
established.  But  there  is  one  peculiarity  in  the  miniature  representa- 
tion. The  sign  of  Capricorn  is  withdrawn  from  the  series,  and  pla- 
ced over  the  head  of  the  figure,  in  an  isolated  situation,  where  it  ap- 
pears to  dominate. f 

The  very  existence  of  a  zodiac  upon  the  case  of  a  mummy  must 
suggest  the  idea  that  it  has  a  reference  to  the  embalmed  ;  in  other 
words,  that  it  is  astrological  and  not  astronomical.  In  this  case,  the 
detached  sign  may  be  supposed  to  represent  that  under  which  the 
individual  was  born,  and  which  consequently  was  to  rule  his  fate 
through  life.  This  hypothesis  is  easily  verified.  We  have  the  exact 
age  of  Petemenon,  with  the  date  of  his  death.  Calculating  from 
these,  we  find  that  he  was  born  on  January  12,  a.  d.  95.  On  that 
day  the  sun  is  situated  at  nearly  two  thirds  of  Capricorn.  If  instead 
of  the  sign  we  prefer  the  constellation,  the  conclusion  will  be  the 
same ;  for,  calculating  from  Delambre's  table,  according  to  the 
annual  precession,  we  find  that  at  the  period  in  question,  the  whole 
constellation  was  comprised  in  the  sign,  and  that  on  the  12th  of 
January  the  sun  was  about  the  IGth  degree  of  the  former.| 

We  can  therefore  entertain  no  doubt  that  the  zodiac  expresses  a 
natal  theme  ;  and  analogy  would  lead  us  to  the  same  conclusion  re- 
garding that  of  Dendera,  even  if  the  appearance  of  the  decans, 
recognized  by  Visconti  and  demonstrated  by  Champollion,  who  has 
beside  them  the  names  given  them  in  Julius  Firmicus,  did  not  already 
authorize  us  to  consider  it  astrological. 

M.  Letronne,  however,  does  not  content  himself  with  this  general 
conclusion,  but  enters  into  an  elaborate  examination  of  the  astrology 
of  the  ancients.     This,  originally  the  offspring  of  Egypt,  passed  into 


*  Page  30.  t  Page  49. 

X  Pages  53,  54. 


278  LECTURE  THE   EIGHTH. 

I 

Greece  and  Rome,  and  returned  to  its  mother  country,  ennobled  and 
consecrated,  by  the  patronage  of  the  Csesurs.*  Precisely  at  the 
moment  when  the  celebrated  zodiacs  were  sketched,  this  science, 
if  it  may  bear  that  name,  had  attained  its  zenii'i,  and  culminated 
over  its  native  soil.  Manilius,  in  the  reign  of  Augustus,  Vettius 
Valens  in  that  of  M.  Aurelius,  wrote  their  treatises  concerning  it; 
but  the  numerous  astrological  medals  of  Egypt,  under  Trajan,  Adrian, 
and  Antoninus,  demonstrate  its  prevalence  in  that  country.!  This 
was  likewise  the  age  of  astrological  sects,  of  Gnostics,  Ophites,  and 
Basilidians,  whose  Abraxas,  exhibiting  various  astrological  combina- 
tions, had  been  gravely  taken  by  some  of  the  illustrators  of  the 
zodiacs,  for  monuments  of  3863  years  before  the  Christian  era-l 
This  concentration  of  evidence,  the  modern  and  nearly  contemporary 
dates  of  a// the  zodiacs,  the  decided  astrological  character  of  one,  the 
Decans  upon  another,  and  above  all,  the  prevalence  of  astrological 
ideas  at  the  only  time  when  any  zodiac  existing  in  Egypt  was  made, 
leaves  no  room  to  doubt  that  all  such  representations  are  purely 
remnants  of  the  occult  science,  and  only  exhibit  genethliacal  themes.§ 
What  a  waste  of  talents,  of  time,  and  of  learning,  has  not  truth  to 
deplore,  in  retracing  the  history  of  this  memorable  controversy ! 
Over  what  a  glittering  heap  of  ruined  systems  has  not  error  to  mourn 
— systems  where  all  was  brilliant,  all  was  imposing,  all  was  confident, 
but  where  all  was,  at  the  same  time,  hollow  and  brittle,  and  un- 
sound. We  have,  indeed,  many  cases  where  a  sportive  or  malicious 
fraud  has  deluded  the  ingenuity  and  study  of  an  antiquary,  and  made 
him  pay,  like  Scriblerus,  to  modern  rust,  the  veneration  and  homage 
reserved  to  that  of  antiquity. ||  But  never  before  did  the  world  see 
an  instance  where  "  a  spirit  of  giddiness"  had  so  completely  invaded 
such  a  large  portion  of  learned  and  able  men,  as  that  they  should  as- 
cribe countless  ages  to  monuments  comparatively  modern,  undeterred 
by  the  fall  of  system  after  system, — 
"  And  still  engage 
Within  the  sarne  arena  where  they  see 
Their  fellows  fadi  before,  like  leaves  of  the  same  tree." 

Childe  Harold,  Canto  iv.  94. 

*  Pages  58—86.  t  lb.  86—92. 

\  lb.  70.  §  lb.  105—108. 

II  See  D'Israeli's  "Curiosities  of  Literature,"  2d  series,  2d  ed.  Lond. 
1824.  vol.  iii.  p.  49,  seqq.  But  many  other  curious  examples  might  be 
added  to  those  cited  by  D'Israeli. 


EARLY    HISTORY.  279 

Never,  in  fact,  did  error  bear  more  completely  its  hydra  form.  Each 
head  was  cut  off  the  moment  it  appeared,  but  a  new  one  rose  instant- 
ly at  its  side,  equally  bold,  and  equally  "speaking  great  things." 
For  more  than  twenty  years,  this  galling  warfare  continued  ;  but,  as 
prejudice  was  gradually  exhausted,  and  true  science  gained  strength, 
the  vital  powers  of  the  monster  became  less  vigorous,  and  the  wounds 
which  it  received  more  fatal.  Its  last  gasp  has  long  since  died  away  ; 
the  last  flap  of  its  mortal  struggles  has  ceased  ;  and  only  existing 
among  the  records  of  history,  it  can  now  present  no  moro  terrors  to 
the  most  simple  and  timid,  than  the  "  gaunt  anatomy,"  or  well  pre- 
served coils  of  some  desert  monster,  in  the  cabinet  of  the  curious. 

Still,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  see  the  catalogue  of  great  names  who  did 
not  bend  their  knee  to  this  favorite  idol,  and  it  is  only  justice  to  re- 
cord them.  A  writer  in  an  English  journal,  long  after  the  last  re- 
seaiches  which  I  have  detailed,  had  the  boldness  to  assert,  that  "on 
the  Continent," — and  he  is  speaking  of  France  in  particular — "  the 
antiquity  of  the  zodiacs  of  Dendera  has  been  considered  as  quite  suffi- 
ciently established  to  prove  that  the  Egyptians  were  a  learned  and 
scientific  people,  long  before  the  date  which  our  belief  affixes  to  the 
creation  of  man  ;"  while  in  England,  not  only  was  this  denied,  but 
the  contrary  demonstrated, /or  thejirst  time,  by  Mr.  Bentley  !*  By  a 
logical  process,  unfortunately  too  common  in  the  pages  of  that  jour- 
nal, the  writer  finds  the  cause  of  this  phenomena  in  the  religions  of 
the  countries.  "  The  baneful  influence  of  Popery,"  he  says,  induces 
the  philosophical  inquirer  "to  reject  all  revelation  as  no  better  than 
priestcraft,"  while  "  in  our  own  free  country,  the  encouragement 
given  to  a  full  and  free  examination  of  the  evidence  of  Christianity, 
has  taught  acute  reasoners  to  know  its  strength."!  All  this  was 
written  ttco  years  after  the  last  work  of  Letronne  had  closed  the  lists 
in  France  on  the  subject  of  the  zodiacs.  But  if  the  critic  had  been 
less  borne  away  by  the  desire  of  tilting  against  Catholicity,  even 
where  his  challenge  was  with  infidelity — the  common  adversary — he 
surely  would  have  recollected  the  names,  not  only  of  Letronne  and 
Champollion,  but  of  Lalande,  Visconti,  Paravey,  Delombre,  Testa, 
Biot,  Saint-Martin,  Halma  and  Cuvier,  every  one  of  whom  had  as- 
signed a  modern  epoch  to  these  monuments.     And  where  not  num- 

*  «  British  Critic,"  April  1826,  p.  137,  cf.  149. 
t  P.  136,  seq. 


280  LECTURE    THE    EIGHTH. 

bers,  but  astronomical  science  is  required, 'such  names  as  those  of 
Lalande,  Delambre,  and  Biot,  may  surely  weigh  in  the  balance 
against  many  others,  and  redeem  the  French  savans  from  the  sweep- 
ing imputation  so  injuriously  cast  upon  them. 


LECTURE   THE   NINTH; 


A  R  C  H  iE  O  L  O  G  Y. 


Introductory  remarks.— Medals  :  Reconciliation  of  an  apparent  con- 
tradiction between  Genesis  and  the  Acts.— Frcihlicli's  application  of 
medals  to  the  defence  of  the  chronology  of  the  Maccabees.— Alexan- 
der called  the  first  kins;  among  the  Greeks:  Death  of  Antiochus 
Evergetes.  Acknowledgments  of  his  opponents  ;  accordance  of 
Eckhel.  M.  Tochon  d'Annecy's  objections. — Apamean  medals  ; 
history  of  them  ;  com|)arison  with  other  monuments. — Inscriptions. 
Verbal  illustrations  of  Scripture  from  them.— Gibbon  and  Dodwell's 
assertions  regarding  the  small  number  of  Christian  martyrs,  and  Bur- 
net's objections,  answered  by  Visconti,  ^rom  inscriptions. — Monu- 
ments. Use  of  wine  in  Egypt  denied,  and  the  Scripture  conse- 
quently assailed. — Confutation  of  this  cavil  from  Egyptian  monu- 
ments.— Costaz,  Jomard,  Champollion,  and  Rosellini. — Curious  vase 
found  in  the  Roman  Campagna,  referable  to  the  deluge. — Conquest 
of  Judah  by  Shishak,  represented  at  Karnak. — Concluding  remarks. 

Our  last  inquiries  have  gradually  led  us  amongst  the  monuments 
of  antiquity  ;  and,  from  the  examination  of  such  great  chronological 
points  as  touched  on  the  authenticity  of  sacred  history,  we  found 
ourselves  almost  imperceptibly  brought  to  the  discussion  of  individu- 
al monuments  of  kings,  and  of  their  people.  It  might,  therefore,  be 
said,  that  the  study  on  which  we  have  now  to  enter,  has  been  already 
introduced  ;  or,  at  least,  that  the  connexion  between  what  has  been 
said,  and  what  will  follow,  is  so  close  and  natural,  as  hardly  to  war- 
rant a  separation  into  two  distinct  pursuits.  But,  in  all  the  histories 
hitherto  examined,  we  have  had  one  specific  object  in  view,  the  re- 
conciliation of  their  early  monuments  with  sacred  chronology,  and 
the  process  we  have  pursued  has  been  consequently  uniform  and 
36 


282  t.^CTVTRE    THE    NINTH. 

simple.  We  have  followed  the  actual  progress  of  science  ;  and  coni- 
paring  its  results  with  our  sacred  records,  have  invariably  discovered 
that  it  removed  all  difficulties,  and  gave  us  a  variety  of  new  and  in- 
teresting chronological  coincidences. 

There  are,  however,  a  multitude  of  monuments  bearing  upon  the 
Christian  evidences  which  could  not  enter  into  this  class,  and  which, 
if  introduced  under  the  same  science,  would  have  disturbed  our  pro- 
cess, and  broken  the  unity  of  our  design.  These,  therefore,  I  will 
throw  together  into  a  distinct  class,  under  the  name  of  archaeology. 
Obviously,  il.s  character  will  hardly  allow  us  to  y)ursue  so  uniform  and 
progressive  a  method  as  in  our  last  researches  ;  for  like  the  objects 
which  it  discusses,  it  is  necessarily  of  a  fragmentary  nature.  It 
owns  not  the  unities  of  time,  place,  or  action;  it  professes  to  deal 
with  the  remains  of  every  age,  and  of  every  country,  composed  of  ev- 
ery sort  of  materials,  and  shaped  in  every  possible  form.  Thus,  as  it 
turns  its  attention  from  Greece  to  Italy,  from  Sicily  to  Egypt,  as  it 
decyphers  an  inscription,  discusses  a  medal,  fixes  the  locality  of  an 
edifice,  or  judges  of  its  age,  it  must  vary  its  rules,  its  methods,  and 
its  direction.  Hence,  as  a  science,  it  cannot  be  said  to  have  one 
definite  onward  movement,  tending  to  the  development  of  any  gener- 
al conclusion.  Our  course  must  be  of  a  similar  nature  ;  we  will  here 
pick  up  a  medal,  there  will  pore  over  an  inscription  ;  we  will  con- 
tent ourselves  with  such  Hionuments  as  chance  shall  throw  in  our 
way,  and  carefully  store  up  in  our  cabinet  such  illustrations  or  con- 
firmations, however  slight,  as  they  may  seem  to  afford  to  our  sacred 
convictions. 

To  these  remarks  I  must  further  add,  that  here  I  can  only  pre- 
tend to  glean  what  others  have  left  behind.  Of  the  species  of  con- 
firmatory evidences  which  these  lectures  pursue,  none  has  been 
oftener  or  more  fully  handled  than  the  illustrations  from  such  anti- 
quarian remains.  Every  elementary  introduction  to  Scripture  dedi- 
cates a  chapter  to  this  subject ;  though,  in  some  instances,  as  in  the 
monument  of  the  Assyrian  captivity  given  by  Home  from  Kerr  Porter, 
the  examples  are  far  from  certain  ;  in  others,  as  in  the  Apemean 
medal,  by  no  means  accurate.  Now,  I  have  pledged  myself  to  bring 
forward  no  examples  already  given  in  works  upon  the  evidences,  and 
therefore  I  must  be  content  with  such  as  the  industry  of  others  may 
have  overlooked. 

I  cannot  avoid  mentioning,  in  thi.'^  place,  a  work  which  has  taken 
one  cla.ss  of  monument?  out  of  our  hands,  those  that  relate  to  the  his- 


ARCHEOLOGY. 


283 


tory  of  Christianity.  I  mean  Walsh's  "  Essay  on  ancient  coins, 
medals  and  gems,  as  illustrating  the  progress  of  Christianity  in  the 
early  ages."*  It  is  a  work,  however,  which  must  disappoint  expec- 
tation. Most  of  its  materials  are  but  of  a  secondary  interest ;  a  great 
portion  of  the  volume  is  taken  up  with  an  account  of  the  Gnostics, 
and  their  doctrines,  and  makes  but  a  sorry  figure  beside  the  profound 
researches  of  such  continental  writers  as  Neander  and  Hahn.  The 
second  part  of  the  work  gives  a  series  of  medals,  illustrative  of  the 
imperial  history  from  Dioclesian  to  John  Zemiscus  in  969,  and  so 
far  is  interesting;  but  it  contains  many  inaccuracies,  and  gives  the 
author  opportunities  of  displaying  an  ill-timed  illiberality. 

With  these  disadvantages,  we  will  enter  upon  our  researches 
among  the  medals,  inscriptions,  and  monuments  of  antiquity. 

I.  There  is  an  apparent  contradiction  between  the  narratives  in 
Gen.  33:  19,  and  in  Acts  7:  16,  relating  to  the  purchase  of  a  field  by 
Jacob  from  the  Hemorites.  For,  St.  Stephen,  in  the  latter  passage, 
tells  us  that  the  price  was  paid  in  a  sum  of  money,  iif-ii]Q  ugyv(jlov, 
whereas  the  original  text  of  Genesis  says  that  it  was  paid  by  a  hun- 
dred lambs,  or  sheep.  At  least,  the  Hebrew  word  there  used,  ni:2"'i23p> 
( Kesita),  is  so  rendered  by  every  ancient  version.  Hence,  the  En- 
glish version,  which  renders  it  by  pieces  of  money,  has  added  in  the 
margin,  as  nearer  the  original,  the  other  interpretation.  Supposing 
this  rendering  of  the  ancient  versions  to  be  correct,  and  there  must 
have  been  some  reason  for  their  all  giving  that  meaning  to  the  w'ord, 
there  was  a  very  simple  method  of  reconciling  the  two  passages,  by 
considering  the  same  term  to  have  expressed  both  objects  ;  in  other 
words,  by  conjecturing  that  the  ancient  Phenician  coin  bore  upon  it 
the  figure  of  a  lamb,  for  which  it  was  an  equivalent,  and  that  from 
this  emblem,  it  also  derived  its  name.  For,  nothing  is  more  common 
than  such  a  substitution.  Among  our  ancestors,  the  attgel  and  cross, 
so  often  alluded  to  in  Shakspeare,  received  their  names  from  the 
representation  they  bore  ;  and,  among  the  Romans,  the  very  name 
of  money,  pecunia,  is  allowed  to  be  derived  from  the  exactly  similar 
case  of  a  sheep  being  stamped  upon  it.  Any  apparent  difficulty 
would  thus  be  satisfactorily  removed,  by  a  highly  probable  conjec- 
ture. But  the  publication  of  a  medal,  found  by  Dr.  Clark  near  Citium 
in  Cyprus,  has  given  us  all  the  evidence  we  might  desire.  The  late 
learned  Dr.  Munter,  presented  a  dissertation  on  this  subject  to  the 


London  1828. 


284  LECTURE    THE    NINTH. 

Royal  Danish  Academy,  inserted  in  their  Acts  for  1822.*  In  it  he 
observes,  that  the  coin,  which  is  of  silver,  is  undoubtedly  Pheuician, 
as  it  bears  upon  the  reverse  a  legend  in  Phenician  characters.  On 
the  obverse  is  the  figure  of  a  sheep  ;  and  no  doubt  can  be  entertained 
of  its  extreme  antiquity.  Here,  then,  he  concludes,  it  is  extremely 
probable  that  we  have  the  very  coin  alluded  to  in  Scripture;  at  least, 
we  now  know  for  certain  that  the  Phenicians  had  a  coin  with  a  sym- 
bol corresponding  to  the  meaning  of  the  word  Kesita ;  and  the  ele- 
ment alone  wanting  to  make  the  conjectural  reconciliation  morally 
certain,  now  exists.! 

A  most  complete  and  valuable  application  of  numismatics,  to  the 
vindication  of  sacred  chronology,  has  been  made  in  reference  to  the 
latest  historical  works  of  the  Jews,  the  two  books  of  Maccabees.  No 
books  of  Scripture  had  been  subjected  to  a  stricter  examination  than 
these,  because  they  entered  among  the  topics  of  religious  dispute,  af- 
ter the  Reformation.  The  Catholic,  who  believes  them  to  form  part 
of  the  canonical  Scriptures,  feels  necessarily  a  livelier  interest  con- 
cerning them;  but  to  all  Christians  they  must  appear  of  immense 
value,  from  forming  the  last  and  only  historical  link  in  the  connexion 
between  the  old  and  new  dispensations,  and  the  only  record  of  the 
fulfilment  of  those  promises,  which  foretold  the  restoration  and  con- 
tinuation of  the  Jewish  sceptre  till  the  Messiah  should  come.  Great 
difficulties,  however,  existed  regarding  the  dates  assigned  by  them 
to  events  related  no  less  in  classical  history,  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  recounted  them.  By  some  strange  inconsistency,  it  has  almost 
always  happened,  that  when  the  evidence  of  any  sacred  book  is  com- 
pared with  that  of  a  piofane  author,  it  is  taken  for  granted  that  the 
former  must  be  in  error,  if  both  do  not  agree.  This  we  have  seen  to 
be  the  case,  in  treating  of  Indian  and  Egyptian  antiquities.  Where 
they  did  not  harmonize  with  Scripture  chronology,  this  was  i)ro- 
nounced  in  fault ;  though,  critically  speaking,  it  must  be  allowed  at 
least  an  equal  weight  with  them.  Now  precisely  the  same  course 
was  pursued  here.  Discrepancies  were  undoubtedly  found  to  exist 
between  the  dates  assigned  to  events  in  these  and  in  other  authors 

*   Pliiiosopliical  an<l  llistoncal  Class. 

f  On  tlie  reverse,  with  the  legend,  is  a  crown  of  pear/,'?.  One  would 
be  tempted  to  suspect,  that  such  a  circumstance  may  account  for  the 
strange  translation  of  the  two  Targums  of  Onkelos  and  Jerusalem, 
wliicli  both  render  r!i:"'C5p  r^N7J  a  hundred  Kcsiias  liy  ';'<"'b.l"i:D  Hf^lO  a 
liundred  pearls. 


ARCHiEOLOGY.  285 

later  in  time,  and  more  distant  in  country  from  the  scene  of  those 
actions;  and,  of  course,  the  sacred  book  was  condemned  as  inaccu- 
rate. Erasmus  Friihlich,  in  the  preface  to  his  "  Annals  of  the  Kings 
and  Events  of  Syria,"  a  numismatic  work  of  great  authority  and  re- 
searcl),  has  undertaken  the  task  of  comparing  the  chronology  of  these 
books,  not  with  the  vague  testimony  of  other  historians,  often  differ- 
ing among  themselves,  but  with  the  contemporary  and  incontestible 
evidence  of  medals.  And  the  result  has  been,  a  table  confirming,  in 
every  respect,  the  order  and  epochs  of  events  recorded  in  the  in- 
spired history.* 

You  will  easily  suppose,  that  the  objections  were  not  given  up 
without  a  struggle.  The  first  edition  of  Frohlich's  work  appeared  in 
1744,  and  two  years  later,  Ernest  Fred.  Wernsdorff  appeared  in  the 
field  against  him.t  His  efforts  were  not  considered  satisfactory  by 
his  party,  and  his  brother,  Gottlieb,  came  to  his  assistance  in  the  fol- 
lowing year. J  Both  were  fully  answered  by  an  anonymous  work  in 
1749  ;§  and  in  spite  of  the  virulence  exhibited  by  the  two  brothers,  I 
think,  whoever  reads  the  controversy,  will  be  satisfied  that  the  vic- 
tory was  not  with  them.  However,  in  giving  two  or  three  examples 
of  Frohlich's  illustrations,  I  will  select  such  as  the  Wernsdorffs 
themselves  acknowledge  to  be  satisfactory. 

In  the  first  book  of  Maccabees,  6:  2,  Alexander  the  Great  is 
introduced  with  this  description, — og  ^(Suailfvos  vQwiog  iv  rolg 
i'kXriai — ivhojirst  7cos  king  among  the  Greeks.  This,  it  has  been  al- 
leged, is  false  ;  inasmuch  as  Alexander  had  several  predecessors  in 
Macedon,  who  certainly  were  kings,  and  reigned  among  the  Greeks. 
It  may  be  answered,  indeed,  that  he  was  the  first  among  them  who 
founded  an  empire  bearing  their  name;  but  the  solution  given  by 
Frbhlich  is  far  more  satisfactory.  For  it  is  extraordinary,  that  what- 
ever may  have  been  the  power  of  other  monarchs  before  him,  not 


*  "  Annales  compendiarii  Reifutn  et  Renim  Syriae."  Ed.  sec.  Vien. 
]754.  The  second  part  of  his  Prolegomena  is  einirely  taken  up  with 
the  vindication  of  these  books. 

f  "  De  fomihus  Historic  Sy rise  in  Liliris  Maccu!)aeorun)  proliisio," 
Lips.  174G. 

J  "  Gottlieb  Wernsdorffii  Comnjentatio  hi.stdnco-critica  de  fide 
historica  libroriim  Maccabaicorurn."     Wratislau.  1747. 

§  "  Aiicloritas  utriusquelibri  Maccab.  caiionico-liistorica  adserta....  a 
quodam  Soc.  Jesii  sacerdoie,  Curanie  (^asparo  Sciimidl  l)iblio|>eyo." 
Vien.  174'J. 


286  LECTURE    THE    NINTH. 

one  ever  took  the  title  of  Baoufvg,  or  king,  upon  his  coins  before 
him.  "  Certainly,"  says  Frohlich,  "  it  is  not  without  importance  that 
no  medal  of  undoubted  genuineness  of  sovereigns  in  Macedon, 
anterior  to  Alexander,  should  bear  the  title  of  king.  They  have 
barely  the  names  of  the  monarchs,  as  Amyntas,  Archelaus,  Perdicas, 
Philip  ;  and  some  coins  have  simply  Alexander,  but  many  more, 
King  Alexander."*  Gottlieb  Wernsdortf  acknowledges  that  this 
solution  is  correct. — "  This,"  he  says,  "  is  right,  I  could  hardly  sup- 
pose that  any  doubt  could  exist  on  this  point.  For  Jewish  historians 
under  the  name  of  Greeks,  (ctoi^  FAhjVMv)  always  understand  the 
Macedonians,  and  by  kingdom,  the  Macedonian  empire,  or  more  pe- 
culiarly that  of  the  Seleucidae."  He,  however,  charges  Frohlich 
with  a  double  fraud  ;  first,  in  attributing  to  Philip  Aridajiis  a  medal 
of  Philip  Amyntor,  given  by  Spanheim,  on  which  the  title  of  king 
occurs;  secondly,  in  overlooking  a  medal  of  Argaeus. — "  Dicitur 
quoque  extare  numus  Argai,  regis  antiquissimi  cum  epigraphe 
^gyfiov  l3aGdfO)g."i  To  these  objections  the  anonymous  defender 
of  Frohlich  replies — that  the  supposed  Amyntor  of  Spanheim  is 
manifestly,  from  the  style  of  art,  a  coin  of  a  Gallo-Grecian  king;  and 
that  the  Arga3us  of  Tollius,  no  one  had  ever  seen,  or  could  pretend 
to  trace.  He  assures  us  also,  that  he  and  Frohlich  had  carefully  ex- 
amined every  medal  in  the  imperial  and  other  cabinets,  and  had 
never  found  the  title  upon  any  prior  to  Alexander.  | 

Again,  the  second  book  gives  us,  in  the  first  chapter,  a  letter 
from  the  Jews  of  Palestine  to  their  brethren  in  Egypt,  dated  in  the 
year  of  the  Seleucidae  188,  and  containing  a  detailed  narrative  of  the 
death  of  king  Antiochus  in  Persia.  What  Antiochus,  it  has  been 
asked,  could  this  be?  Independently  of  chronological  objections,  it 
could  not  certainly  be  Antiochus  Soter,  who  died  at  Antioch ;  not 
his  successor,  Antiochus  Theus,  who  was  poisoned  by  Laodice ;  nor 
Antiochus  Magnus,  who  was  friendly  to  the  Jews.  Of  Antiochus 
Epiphanes's  end,  we  have  quite  a  different  account  in  the  very  same 
book.   (ix.  5.)     Antiochus  Eupator,  his  successor,  after  a  reign  of 

*  "  Sane  non  de  nihilo  est,  veterum  qui  ante  Alexandrum  fuissent 
Macedoniic  reguni  certa  numisniata  ^aaihwg  thuUim  non  prse  se  ferre: 
sola  com[)aient  regimi  nomine:  auvvrcx  \e\  a^vrrov,  aQxdaov^Tifgdixxov, 
(pdmnov,  et  qiiscdam  numismata  ah^avd^ov  leginius,  alia  phira  Saad- 
t(og  rdi^avdQov." — Frolich,  p.  31. 

t  ''Commentatio,"  §  xxii.  p.  39. 

I  Opcr.  cit.  p.  170. 


ARCHJEOLOGY.  ^87 


two  years,  was  killed  by  Demetrius,  and  the  infant  of  the  same  royal 
name,  who  was  proclaimed  king  by  Tryphon,  was  soon  poisoned  by 
him  as  well.     No  other  sovereign  of  this  name   remains,  but   Antio- 
chus  Sidetes,  called  also  Evergetes,  whose  reign  alone  coincides  with 
the  time  of  the  letter.     But  a  difficulty,  apparently  as  serious  as  any 
of  the  preceding,  seemed  to  exclude  him.     For,  this  monarch  com- 
menced his  reign  174,  and  Porphyrins  and  Eusebius  agree  in  assign- 
ing less  than  nine  years  as  the  term  of  its  duration.     He  must,  there- 
fore, have  died  in  war,  according  to  them,  about  the  year  182.     How, 
theri,  could  the   Jews  in    188,  give   an  account  of  his  death  as  of  a 
recent  event  ?     Could  we  imagine,  for  instance,  the  members  of  any 
religious  community  now-a-days,  writing  a  common  letter  to  their 
brethren  in  a  very  near  country,  to  convey  the  intelligence  that  the 
sovereign  who  oppressed  them  was  dead,  full  six  years  after  that 
event  ?     This  concurring  testimony  of  two  historians  was  considered 
decisive  against  the  Jewish  historian,  and  Prideaux  unhesitatingly 
adopted  it  as  correct.*     Now,  Fr6hlich  has  proved  beyond  a  doubt, 
that  they  must  be  wrong.     First,  he  produced  two  medals   bearing 
the  name  of  Antiochus,  with  dates,  one  of  183,  and  the  other  184  ; 
consequently  later  by  two  years  than  the  time  which  those  historians 
assign  to  his  death.     One  is  as  follows  : — 

BAICAE^C.  yJNT^oxov  TTP  :  JEP.ACT.  ATIP. 

Of  king  Antiochus  ;  of  Tyre,  the  sacred  Asylum  184.t 

The  controversy  ujwn  these  medals  has  been  earned  down  into 
our  own  times.  Ernest  Wernsdorff  acknowledges  the  genuineness 
of  the  medal,  and  allows  that  it  satisfactorily  proves  Antiochus 
Sidetes  to  have  lived  beyond  the  period  assigned  to  him  by  profane 
history  ;  and  even  seems  to  add  his  own  testimony  to  that  of  Fr6hlich. 
For  he  thus  expresses  himself;—"  Quamquam  igitur  quod  ad  numis- 
mata  et  annos  iisdem  inscriptos  attinet  facile  assentior  ;  eidem  cum 
ipsi  mihi,  beneficio  consultissimi  viri  complures  ab  Antiocho  procusos 
nuinos  oculis  usurpare  manibusque  tractare  contigerit."|  His  aux- 
iliary however,  was  more  unyielding,  for  he  suggests  that  the  legend 
has  been  misread,  and  that,  probably,  a  slight  alteration^a^r 

*  Old  and  New  Testaments  connected,"  Chronolog.  table  at  the  end 
of  vol.  iv.  ed.  1749. 

f  P.  24.     See  the  medals  in  his  plate  xi.  Nos.  27,  29. 
I  "De  fontibus  historise  Syria?,"  P.  xiii. 


288  LKCTURE    THE    NINTH. 

has  changed  the  number  181  into  184.*  But  if  even  we  allow  all 
that  has  been  written  against  these  two  medals  to  be  valid,  there 
are  others,  produced  subsequently  to  the  animadversions  of  the  two 
brothers,  whicli  seem  to  place  the  matter  out  of  doubt.  For  Frohlich 
afterwards  published  a  medal  of  the  same  king,  with  the  date  of  185  ;t 
and  Eckhel  added  a  fourth,  struck  in  186.| 

This  point  of  sacred  chronology  was  re-examined  a  few  years 
ago  by  M.  Tochon  d'Annecy,§  who  was  manifestly  guided  by  no 
desire  to  weaken  the  authority  of  the  books  of  Maccabees.  He 
proves  what  every  one  will  allow,  that  serious  difficulties  surround 
every  hypothesis,  and  that  the  concurrent  testimony  of  historians 
should  not  be  lightly  rejected.  Apparent  contradictions,  indeed, 
must  meet  us  in  every  part  of  history  ;  the  difficulty  is  where  to  lay 
the  blame.  The  medals  struck  for  the  coronation  of  Louis  XIV. 
give  a  different  day  from  that  which  all  contemporary  historians  ac- 
cord in  fixing,  for  the  date  of  that  event.  Of  them  all,  one  only,  D. 
Ruinart,  has  noticed  a  circumstance  which  reconciles  this  discre- 
pancy. For,  he  alone  has  recorded,  that  the  coronation  had  been 
appointed  to  take  place  on  a  certain  day,  the  one  given  by  the  medals, 
which  were  accordingly  prepared,  but  circumstances  caused  a  delay 
till  the  one  which  historians  assign.  Nothing  can  be  more  simple 
than  all  this  ;  yet,  in  a  thousand  years,  had  no  such  explanation  been 
given,  antiquaries  might  have  been  sadly  perplexed  to  find  a  recon- 
ciliation. In  that  case,  then,  the  medals  were  wrong,  and  the  his- 
torians right ;  in  ours  we  are  equally  driven  to  condemn  one  class  of 
authorities,  and  I  think  the  critic  will  hardly  hesitate  which  to  prefer. 
For,  in  the  example  given,  the  medals  are  inaccurate,  from  the  date 
once  placed  on  them  not  having  been  changed,  when  the  event 
which  they  commemorated  was  deferred  ;  but  here  we  must  suppose 


*"  Commode  leg!  posset  AIIP  181,  cum  eleinentum  A  et  ^adeo 
siinilibus  lineis  exaretur,  ac  numus  ipse  n)utilus  sit,  ut  ne  nomen  qui- 
(lem  Anliochi  distincte  exhibeat." — Ubi  sup.  sec.  xlii.  p.  79.  cf.  the  reply, 
p.  288. 

f  "  Ad  numismata  regum  veterum  anecdota  et  rariora  accessio 
nova,"  p.  69. 

X  "  Syllogc  Numoruni  veterum,"  p.  8.  "  Doctrina  numorum  vete- 
rum," torn.  iii.  p.  23G. 

§  "  Dissertation  sur  1'  'Epoque  de  la  inort  d'Antiochus  Vll.  Ever- 
getes,  Sid^t^s."     Paris,  181.5. 


ARCH.^OLOGY.  289 

the  incredible  error  of  successive  false  dates,  in  consequence  of  new 
medals  being  struck  to  a  monarch  who  was  lon^r  before  dead. 

M.  Tochon  rejects  the  two  earlier  medals,  chiefly  that  of  184,  on 
grounds  different  from  WernsdorfTs,  but  admitted  by  Eckhel,  that 
the  supposed  A.  or  4,  which  is  somewhat  indistinct,  appears  to  be  a 
B,  or  2,  of  peculiar  shape.*  But  against  the  two  later  medals,  he 
urges  nothing  but  plausibilities;  the  difficulties  which  we  incur  by 
considering  them  genuine,  to  the  disparagement  of  so  many  historical 
authorities.!  In  some  respects  he  is  hardly  just  to  Frohlich  ;  for  he 
assumes  throughout,  that  the  learned  Jesuit  places  the  death  of  the 
king  in  188,1  and  consequently  asks,  how  it  happens,  that  we  have 
medals  of  his  successor,  Antiochus  Grypus,  with  the  date  of  187.§ 
Now  Frohlich  places  the  death  of  Antiochus  Evergetes,  in  186.||  In 
this  manner,  the  circumstance  of  no  medal  of  Antiochus  Grypus 
bearing  an  older  date,  forms  a  negative  confirmation  of  his  opinion. 
Thus  far,  therefore,  it  should  seem  that  the  application  of  medals  has 
served  to  defend  the  chronology  of  these  sacred  records. 

I  will  now  call  your  attention  to  a  class  of  medals,  long  the  sub- 
ject of  serious  disputes  and  endless  conjectures,  and  allusive  to  that 
great  revolution  which  has  already  several  times  occupied  our  notice. 
After  the  proofs  we  have  seen  of  the  deluge  in  the  traditions  of  every 
country,  "  from  China  to  Peru,"  after  the  visible  evidences  of  its  ac- 
tion, which  we  have  discovered,  piled  up  on  the  mountains  and 
scooped  out  in  the  valleys  of  our  globe,  it  will  perhaps  appear  mere 
trifling  to  occupy  ourselves  about  the  petty  monuments  on  which  any 
particular  nation,  much  more  any  city,  may  have  thought  proper  to 
inscribe  its  traditions  concerning  it.  Still  must  we  not  neglect  small 
things,  on  account  of  greater  ;  but  make  all  contribute  where  they 
can,  to  the  noble  and  glorious  cause  of  religion.  It  is  evident  that 
the  ancients  had  two  very  different  legends  of  the  deluge,  one  a  popu- 
lar fable  adapted  to  their  national  mythology,  another  far  more  phi- 
losophical, derived  from  the  traditions  of  the  east,  and  consequently 

*  "  Dissertation,"  p.  22. 

t  Page  G4. 

X  Pages  24—29,  etc. 

§  "Comment  ah. rs  supj)Oser,  que  la  mort  d'Antiochus 'Evergetes 
puisse  ^tre  arrive  I'au  188  ?  Elie  serait  posierieureau  regne  de  son  fils." 
P.  61. 

I  "  Anno  cLXXxvi.  Circa  hoc  tempus  contigisse  existimo  c^dem 
Antiochi  VII.  Evergetis."     P.  88. 

37 


«>90  I.KCTURE    THE    NINTH. 

much  more  in  accordance  witli  the  scriptural  narration.  The  for- 
mer is  the  deluge  of  the  poets,  such  as  Ovid  has  described  it ;  and 
Milhn  has  observed,  that  no  monument  exists  whereon  it  is  represent- 
ed.* The  other  .account  of  this  event  is  preserved  in  the  writings  of 
Lucian  and  Plutarch.  According  to  this  tradition,  Deucalion  is 
represented  as  making  an  ark  or  chest,  (Aapi/a>ca)  into  which  he  re- 
tired, taking  with  him  a  couple  of  every  species  of  animals  as  well  as 
his  wife  and  children.  In  this  ark  they  sailed  so  long  as  the  inun- 
dation lasted,  and  "this,"  says  Lucian  at  the  end  of  his  narrative, 
"  is  the  historical  account  given  by  the  Greeks  concerning  Deuca- 
lion."t  Plutarch  adds,  that  the  return  of  a  dove,  first  gave  notice  to 
Deucalion  of  the  waters  being  dried  up.|  Now,  the  medals  of  which 
I  am  going  to  treat,  with  another  monument  which  I  shall  by  and  by 
describe,  contain  the  representation  of  this  traditional  history. 

These  imperial  bronze  medals  of  the  city  of  Apamea,in  Phrygia, 
bear  on  one  side  the  head  of  different  emperors,  of  Severus,  Mac- 
rinus,  and  Philip  the  elder.  The  reverse  is  uniform,  having  the 
representation  drawn  on  the  lithograph  placed  in  your  hands,  (pi.  1, 
fig.  1.)  It  is  thus  described  by  Eckhel.  "  A  chest  swimming  upon 
the  waters,  in  which  a  man  and  woman  appear  from  the  breast  up- 
wards. Without  it,  advance  with  their  faces  turned  from  it,  a  wo- 
man robed,  and  a  man  in  a  short  garment,  holding  up  their  right 
hands.  On  the  lid  of  the  chest  stands  a  bird,  and  another  balanced 
in  air,  holds  in  its  claws  an  olive  branch. "§  The  small  compass  of  a 
medal  could  hardly  give  a  more  expressive  representation  of  this  great 
event.  We  have  two  diflferent  scenes,  but  manifestly  the  same  ac- 
tors. For,  the  costume  and  heads  of  the  persons  standing  outside, 
do  not  allow  us  to  consider  them  others  than  the  figures  in  the  ark. 
We  have  these  individuals  first  floating  over  the  waters  in  an  ark, 
then  standing  on  dry  land  in  an  attitude  of  admiration, ||  with  the 
dove  bearing  the  symbol  of  peace  above  them. 

But  the  most  interesting   circumstance  yet  remains.      On  the 

*  "Galerie  Mythologique."     Par.  1811,  torn.  ii.  p.  136. 

t  "De  Dea  Syra,"  vol.  ii.  p.GGl,  Ed  Bened.  Amst.  J687. 

\  "Utruni  aiiinialia  terrestria  autaquaiica  magis  slut  soicrtia/'  Oper. 
Par.  1572,  torn.  ill.  p.  1783. 

§"Doctrina  numoriim  vetcriim."       Vienna,   1793,  part  I,  vol.  ill. 
p.  130. 

tl  Eckhel,  ibid.  p.  136. 


T] 


ARCHiEOLOGY. 


291 


front  pannel  of  this  ark  are  some  letters,  and  the  discussion  of  their 
import  has  been  the  subject  of  many  learned  dissertations.  The  first 
who  published  these  medals  was  Octavius  Falconieri,  in  Rome,  in 
1667.  The  engraving  which  he  gives  of  the  Paris  Severus,  has  the 
letters  JSHTSIN;  which  he  reads  in  continuation  oi  lUylF  (.layvT)- 
Twv*  Vaillant  pretended  to  read  on  it,  and  on  the  Chigi  medal  of 
Philip,  NESIK,  for  vioi-AO(j(ai'.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Mills  gave  an  essay 
on  this  subject,  inserted  in  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Archseologia,  by 
the  Royal  Antiquarian  Society,  in  which  he  maintains  all  to  be  spu- 
rious which  read  not  thus.  Blanchini  published  two  copies  of  this 
medal,  on  one  of  which  he  reads  NS2E,  and  on  the  other  j\L'f2,f  the 
former  of  which  readings  Falconieri  also  gives  upon  another  medal. 
Thus  we  had  four  versions  of  this  legend,  and  every  new  inquiry 
seemed  still  more  to  involve  the  controversy.  The  reading  JSSIE 
appeared  too  favorable  to  the  object  proposed  in  the  first  publication 
of  these  medals,  not  to  be  held  in  suspicion  ;  and  such  was  the  dread 
of  admitting  any  thing  so  good  to  be  true,  that  Mr.  Barrington,  al- 
lowing this  to  be  the  correct  legend,  would  not  believe  it  to  have  any 
allusion  to  the  scriptural  name,  but  rather  supposed  it  to  stand  for 
iVJ2/,  we,  dual  of  fyoi,  and  to  be  a  compendious  representation  of 
Ovid's  words  ;  "  Nos  duo  turba  sumus  !"|  The  fact  is,  that  of  all 
these  readings  not  one  is  correct ;  for  Eckhel  has  proved  that  the 
medals  only  bear  two  letters,  JSSl.  This  he  has  proved  from  his  own 
and  Frohlich's  observation  of  the  Vienna  and  Florence  medals,  from 
Venuti's  of  that  in  the  Albani  cabinet,  and  Barthelemy's,  of  the  Paris 
Severus.  Indeed,  in  some  only  the  A"^  is  visible,  but  at  the  same 
time,  in  most,  trace  of  a  third  letter  is  discernible,  which  has  not 
been  purposely  erased,  but  worn  out  from  being  the  most  prominent 
point  in  the  relief  Eckhel,  after  examining  the  different  explana- 
tions given  by  others  to  this  legend,  rejects  them,  and  concludes,  that 
as  the  entire  scene,  represented  on  the  medal,  bears  manifest  refer- 
ence to  the  Noachian  deluge,  so  must  the  inscription  on  the  ark  ; 
and  that,  consequently,  it  is  the  name  of  that  patriarch.  This  he  il- 
lustrates from  the  coins  of  Magnesia  in  Ionia,  on  which  is  the  figure 


*  "De  nummo  Apamensi  Deucalionei  diluvii  typum  exhibente  Dis- 
sertatio,  ad  P.  Seguiuum."     Rome,  1667. 

f  "  La  Storia  universale  provota  con  monument)."  Rome,  1697,  pp. 
186,  191. 

I  Archeeology,  vol.  iv.  p.  315. 


292  LECTl'KK    THE    NINTH. 

of  a  ship,  bearing  the  inscription  APJ^^i  ;  no  doubt  for  the  purpose 
of  clearly  specifying  tlie  mythological  event  to  which  it  refers,  the 
expedition  of  the  Argonauts.* 

But  here  an  obvious  difficulty  occurs  ;  what  could  have  induced 
the  Apameans  to  choose  such  an  event  for  their  symbol  on  their  coins  ? 
This  difficulty,  too,  is  satisfactorily  removed.  It  was  customary  for 
cities  to  take,  as  their  emblems,  any  remarkable  event  which  was 
fabled  to  have  happened  there.  Thus  the  city  of  Thermae  in  Sicily, 
has  Hercules  upon  its  coins,  because  he  is  supposed  in  mythology  to 
have  there  reposed.  Now,  this  is  precisely  the  case  with  Apaniea  ; 
or,  as  it  anciently  was  called,  Cela;ne.  For  the  Sibylline  books, 
which,  however  spurious,  are  sufficient  testimony  of  the  existence  of 
a  popular  tradition,  expressly  tell  us,  that  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ce- 
Isene  stands  the  mountain  Ararat,  upon  which  the  ark  reposed.  This 
tradition,  evidently  having  no  reference  to  Deucalion's  deluge,  the 
seat  of  which  was  Greece,  is  sufficient  to  account  for  the  adoption  of 
such  a  representation  upon  the  Apamean  coins.  Hence,  too,  pro- 
bably arose  another  ancient  name  of  this  city  AilScorog,  the  Ark,  as 
Winkelmaun  has  shown,  and  this  name  is  the  very  word  used  by  the 
Septuagint  and  Josephus  in  describing  Noah's  ark.f 

Here,  then,  we  have  an  instance  of  a  monument  illustrative  of 
Scripture,  which  owes  its  certainty  and  authority  to  the  progress  of 
the  very  science  which  first  presented  it.  For  we  have  seen  the 
learned  medalist,  who  may  be  said  to  have  first  reduced  the  study  of 
coins  into  a  systematic  order,  and  incorporated  the  whole  science 
into  one  plan,  was  also  the  first  to  clear  away  all  uncertainty  from 
these  interesting  documents,  and  j)lace  their  meaning  above  all 
doubt. 

But  it  might  be  objected  that  such  a  representation  of  the  ark 
can  hardly  be  considered  in  acordance  with  either  the  sacred  or  the 
profane  description  of  the  deluge  before  rehearsed  ;  inasmuch  as 
these  suppo.se  not  merely  Noah  and  his  wife,  but  all  his  family 
and  many  animals,  to  have  been  shut  up  in  the  ark.  Such  circum- 
.stances  can  hardly  be  exj)ressed  by  the  representation  of  a  small  chest, 
containing  two  individuals.  To  remove  this  difficulty,  I  would  pro- 
pose a  comparison  between  the  early  Christian  monuments  and  the 

*  Page  133. 

+  See   VVinkeimann's  "Moiuinienti   anticiii   inediti."    Rome,    17G7, 
torn.  ii.  p.  358.     Eckhel.  ib.  pp.  133,  139. 


ARCHEOLOGY.  293 

representation  on  the  medals,  for  in  the  former,  no  one  can  doubt  that 
the  Scripture  narrative  was  kept  in  view.  In  them  the  ark  is  always 
represented  as  a  square  chest,  floating  upon  a  stream  of  water.  In 
it  is  seen  only  the  figure  of  the  patriarcli  from  the  waist  upwards  ; 
and  above,  the  dove  bearing  the  olive-branch  towards  him.  Such  is 
the  representation  on  four  marble  sarcophagi  given  by  Aringhi,*  and 
in  the  painting  of  the  second  chamber  in  the  cemetery  of  Callistus.f 
An  exactly  similar  representation  is  given  from  a  metal  lamina  by 
the  senator  Buonarotti,J  and  illustrated  by  Ciampini.§  Some  of_^these 
paintings  seem  to  show  the  cover  of  the  chest  raised  open  above  the 
head  of  the  patriarch,  as  in  the  Apamean  medals.||  Again,  as  in 
these,  the  figure  of  Noah  is  sometimes  seen  out  of  the  ark,  standing 
on  dry  land,  with  the  symbolic  dove  to  specify  who  he  is.  For,  so 
Boldetti  enumerates,  among  the  common  Christian  symbols  :  "  Noe 
dentro  e  talvolta  fuori  dell'  area,  colla  colomba."^  In  fine,  the  dove 
is  sometimes  seen  perched  upon  the  ark,  as  on  the  medal,  but  then 
the  figure  of  the  patriarch  is  wanting.  Thus  it  is  on  the  Fowginian 
gem,  described  by  Mimachi.**  To  enable  you  better  to  make  the 
comparison  between  the  sacred  and  profane  representations,  I  have 
had  a  painting  from  the  ceme>cry  of  Callistus,  drawn  beside  the  Apa- 
mean medal,  (Fig.  2.)  And  I  think,  after  seeing  the  two  together, 
you  will  conclude,  not  only,  that  theieby  is  removed  every  difficulty 
as  to  whether  such  an  ark  as  Noah's  could  ever  have  been  repre- 
sented as  we  see  it  on  the  medals,  but  that  the  resemblance  between 
the  two  classes  of  monuments  is  such  as  to  warrant  our  considering 

*  "Roma  subterranea."  Rome,  1651.  Tom.  i.  pp.  325,  331,  333; 
Tom.  ii.  p.  143. 

t  lb.  p.  539.     See  also  pp.  551,. 556. 

I  "Osserviizioni  sopra  alcuni  frammenti  di  vasi  antichi  di  vetro," 
Tom.  i.  Fig.  1. 

§  "  Dissertatio  de  diiobtis  embletnatibus  Mussel  Card.  Carpinei." 
Rome,  1748,  p.  18.  Biancliini  lias  also  piibiislied,  from  an  ancient 
plass,  a  miniature  representation  of  the  same  scene.  (Demonstratio 
historiae  ecclesiasticae  quadripartitse  comprobatte  monumentis.  Rome, 
1753,  |).  585.)  It  is  marked  No.  159,  in  the  last  sheet  of  the  second 
plate,  illustrative  of  the  second  century. 

II  See  examples  in  Aringhi.  Tom.  ii.  pp.  67,  105,  187,  315. 

II  "  Osservazioni  sopra  i.  Cimiterii,"  etc.  Rome,  1720.  Lib,  i.  p.  22. 

**  "  Orisinuin  et  antiquitatum  Christiaiiar."  Lib.  xx.  Tom.  iii.  Rome, 
1731,  p.  22.  Tab.  ii.  fig.  6. 


294  LECTURE    THE    NINTH. 

their  subjects  identical.  Add  to  this  that  the  difference  of  age  be- 
tween the  two  cannot  be  very  great;  and  that  it  is  evident  the  Chris- 
tians, in  these  paintings,  which  are  so  uniform  in  different  monu- 
ments, had  a  common  type,  quite  distinct  from  the  sacred  narrative, 
for  their  designs,  and  that  this  type  was  probably  borrowed  from  oth- 
er traditions. 

II.  From  medals  let  us  turn  to  inscriptions,  a  higher  order  of 
monuments,  inasmuch  as  they  are  generally  more  detailed  in  the  in- 
formation they  convey.  The  greatest  advantage  which  has  been  de- 
rived from  this  class  of  ancient  remains,  consists  in  verbal  illustra- 
tions of  obscure  passages  in  Scripture,  which  they  have  often  afford- 
ed ;  but  were  I  to  enlarge  upon  this  species  of  philological  confirma- 
tion or  explanation,  which  the  sacred  text  has  received  from  them, 
it  is  plain  that  I  should  lead  you  into  a  minute  detail  and  learned 
disquisition,  hardly  suitable  to  the  purport  of  these  lectures.  Yet, 
whatever  throws  new  light  upon  any  passage  of  Scripture,  and  what- 
ever vindicates  its  phraseology  from  any  charge  of  inconsistency  or 
barbarism,  tends  likewise  to  increase  our  clear  apprehension  of  it, 
and  gives  us  additional  evidence  of  its  authenticity.  I  will  therefore 
content  myself  with  one  example,  taken  from  a  learned  dissertation 
by  Dr.  Fred.  Miinter,  entitled,  "  Specimens  of  Sacred  Observations 
from  Greek  Marbles ;  inserted  a  few  years  ago  in  the  Copenhagen 
Miscellany.*  In  Jo.  4:  46,  mention  is  made  of  a  rig  (iuathnog,  a 
certain  nobleman,  or  ruler,  or  courtier,  for  in  all  these  ways  it  is  ren- 
dered. The  English  version  has  the  first  with  the  other  two  in  the 
margin,  and  of  this  interpretation  a  modern  commentator  observes, 
that  it  "  conveys  the  notion  of  hereditary  rank,  and  certain  dignities, 
to  which  there  was  nothing  in  Palestine,  or  even  in  Syria,  that  cor- 
responded."f  Some  have  thought  it  meant  one  of  the  royal  blood, 
another  a  royal  soldier ;  others  have  considered  it  a  proper  name. 
The  most  probable  explanation  of  the  word  seemed  that  of  Krebs, 
that  it  signified  a  minister  or  servant  of  the  king's.J     The  examples 


*  "Symbolse  ad  interpretationem  N.  T.  ex  marmoribus,  numis,  la- 
pidibusque  caelatis,  inaxime  Graecis."  In  tlie  "Miscellanea  Hafnensia 
theologici  et  philologici  argument!."  Tom.  i.  fascic.  i.    Copenhag.  1816. 

f  Campbell,  in  loc. 

I  "Observationes  Flaviana?,"  p.  144.  Six  of  GriesbacL's  codices 
read,  ftatnUaxoc,  and  it  is  evident  that  tlic  translator  of  the  viilgate  read 
it  so  ;  for  that  version  has  "quidam  rtguLus"  or  as  we  have  wondered 
it,  "a  certain  ruler."     Schleusner  supposes  this  reading  to  have  arisen 


ARCHEOLOGY. 


295 


he  brought  from  authors,  did  not  satisfy  many  commentators.  A 
new  one  produced  by  Miinter,  from  an  inscription  on  Memnon's 
statue,  written  in  the  same  Greek  dialect,  the  Hellenistic,  as  the 
New  Testament,  puts  this  translation  on  a  more  secure  footing. 
For  in  it  mention  is  made  of  yi^if^udo){)oq  TTiolff-iaiov  ^uodiy.og, 
Artemidorus,  the  courtier,  or  servant  of  Ptolemy.  For  the  addition 
of  the  king's  name  will  admit  of  no  other  translation.* 

To  come  now  to  instances  of  more  general  importance  and  in- 
terest, and  from  words  to  things,  I  will  give  you  an  example  of  the 
services  which  inscriptions  may  render  to  the  great  evidences  of 
Christianity.  Whoever  has  but  superficially  studied  these,  is  aware  of 
the  importance  of  the  argument  drawn  from  the  alacrity  with  which 
the  early  Christians  encountered  death,  in  defence  of  their  religion. 
From  the  visions  of  the  revelations,  to  the  great  ecclesiastical  history 
of  Eusebius,  the  Church  annals  present  us  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  a 
host  of  martyrs,  who  returned  love  for  love,  and  life  for  life,  sealing 
their  confession  with  their  blood,  and  setting  at  nought  the  malice 
and  cruelty  of  relentless  persecutors.  And  in  this  firmness  of  con- 
viction, this  steadfastness  of  faith,  this  boldness  of  profession,  and 
this  enthusiasm  of  love,  we  have  surely  proof  of  the  powerful  might 
with  which  a  thousand  evidences,  now  read,  but  then  seen  and 
felt,  laid  hold  of  their  minds;  and  in  the  strength  which  sup- 
ported them  through  every  cruel  trial,  we  have  a  demonstration  of  a 
strong  inward  principle  counteracting  in  them  the  feebleness  of  our 

from  the  vulgate,  but  the  contrary  is  much  more  probable.  It  may  not 
be  out  of  place  to  remark  in  tliis  note,  that  although  the  vulgate  has 
rendered  the  word  by  a  diminutive,  in  Hellenistic  Greek  it  has  by  no 
means  that  signification.  This  appears  from  an  inscription  of  Silco, 
king  of  Nubia,  first  published  from  a  less  perfect  copy  of  M.  Gau,  by 
Niebuhr,  in  his  "  Inscriptiones  Nubienses."  Rome,  1S20  ;  and  again, 
from  one  of  M.  Caillaud,  by  Letronne,  in  the  "Journal  des  Savans," 
Feb.  1825,  pp.  98,  99.  This  king  begins  the  magnificent  recital  of  his 
victories  by  E-/<a  2'iAxw  ^uffdixoc  t(ov  JXov^uSav  xai  o).wv  twv  Ai&ionav. 
Even  if  the  judicious  axiom  of  M.  Salverte,  in  his  "  Essai  sur  les  noms 
propres ;"  "  Jamais  people  ne  s'est  donne  a  lui-meme  un  nom  peu  hon- 
orable," did  not  ai)ply  to  monarchs,  in  the  proclamation  of  their  titles, 
the  words  in  the  tenth  and  eleventh  lines  would  leave  no  doubt  of  the 
true  meaning.  For  he  there  says  ;  on  syr/ovs  ^r,v  (Saadicxog,  "I  was 
not  behind  other  princes,  but  I  have  been  superior  to  them."  M.  Le- 
tronne illustrates  many  phrases  of  this  inscription  from  the  Greek  of  the 
Septuagint  and  New  Testament. 
*  "Miscellanea,"  p.  18. 


296  LECTLKE    THE    NINTH. 

nature  ;  and  in  the  nothingness  of  every  effort  to  overcome  them,  or 
utterly  destroy  them,  we  have  evidence  of  a  protecting  arm,  of  the  se- 
cure promise  of  One  who  could  hring  to  nought  every  weapon  forged 
against  his  work.  Who,  then,  can  be  surprised  at  the  ingenuity 
with  which  every  discredit  has  been  thrown  upon  that  interesting  fact 
of  ecclesiastical  history,  and  that  Gibbon  should  have  employed  all 
the  meretricious  brilliancy  of  his  own  style,  and  borrowed  all  the 
learning  of  his  predecessors,  to  prove  that  Christianity  had  but  few 
martyrs,  and  that  these  suffered  death  rather  from  their  own  impru- 
dence, than  from  any  malice  or  hatred  to  Christianity  in  their  ene- 
mies ;  that  they  were  driven  to  the  scaffold  by  an  ambitious  or  restless 
spirit,  rather  than  by  any  hallowing  and  inspired  motive. — "Their 
persons,"  he  concludes,  "  were  esteemed  holy,  their  decisions  were 
admitted  with  deference,  and  they  too  often  abused  by  their  spiritual 
pride  and  licentious  manners,  the  predominance  which  their  zeal  and 
intrepidity  had  acquired.  Distinctions  like  these,  whilst  they  dis- 
play their  exalted  merit,  betray  the  inconsiderable  number  of  those 
who  suffered,  and  of  those  who  died,  for  the  profession  of  Christian- 
ity."* The  learned  Dodwell,  in  his  dissertations  on  St.  Cyprian, 
had  prepared  the  way  for  this  attack  upon  the  historical  evidences  of 
Christianity,  by  maintaining  that  the  number  of  martyrs  was  but  in- 
considerable, and,  that  after  the  reign  of  Domilian,  the  Church  en- 
joyed perfect  tranquillity.!  Doubtless  Ansaldi  and  others  have  well 
performed  the  task  of  confuting  these  assertions  upon  historical 
grounds ;  but  monumental  inscriptions  afford  the  most  direct  and 
satisfactory  means  of  overthrowing  them.  Visconti  has  taken  the 
pains  to  collect,  from  the  voluminous  works  on  Christian  antiquity, 
such  inscriptions  as  show  the  number  of  those  who  shed  their  blood 
for  Christ.t 

The  cruelty  of  the  heathen  persecutions,  even  under  emperors  of 
mild  principles  and  gentle  rule,  is  sufficiently  attested  by  a  pathetic 
inscription  given  by  Aringhi,  from  the  cemetery  of  Callistus.  "Al- 
exander is  not  dead,  but  liveth  above  the  stars,  and  his  body  rests  in 
this  tomb.  He  finished  his  life  under  the  emperor  Antoninus,  who, 
when  he  saw  that  much  favor  was  due,  instead  of  kindness  returned 

*  "  Decline  and  Fail,"  ch.  xvi. 

f  "  Dissertationes  Cyprianicoe."  Dissert,  xi  p.  57,  ad  calc.  Cypr.  Opp. 
Oxon.  1682. 

t  In  the  "  Memorie  Romnne  di  AntichitA,"  ton^-  '•  Rome,  1825. 


archa:ology.  297 

him  hatred.  For,  when  bending  his  knee  about  to  sacrifice  to  the 
true  God,  he  was  dragged  off  to  punishment.  Oh  unhappy  times  ! 
wherein  amidst  our  sacred  rites  and  prayers  we  cannot  be  safe,  even 
in  caverns  !  What  is  more  miserable  than  hfe?  But  on  the  other 
hand,  what  more  miserable  than  death  ?  for  we  cannot  be  even  bu- 
ried by  our  friends  and  families."*  This  pathetic  lamentation  will 
explain  the  difficulties  which  the  Christians  must  have  experienced 
in  recording  the  names  of  their  martyrs,  and  why  they  were  so  often 
obliged  to  content  themselves  with  giving  their  numbers.  Thus  we 
have  the  following  inscriptions  in  the  catacombs  : — t 

Marcella    et    Christi    martyres     cccccl. 
(Marcella  and  550  Martyrs  of  Christ.) 

HiC   RKi^UIESCIT  MeDICUS   CUM  PLURTBUS. 

(Here  rests  Medicus  with  many.) 

CL  Martyres  Christi. 
(150  Martyrs  of  Christ.) 

These  inscriptions  clearly  prove  the  cruelty  of  the  persecutions, 
and  the  great  number  of  the  martyrs. 

Having  thus  seen  the  custom  of  commemorating  in  one  short  in- 
scription, so  many  sufferers  for  the  faith  of  Christ,  we  are  led  to 
the  natural  conclusion,  that  when  a  simple  number  is  found  inscribed 
upon  a  stone,  it  may  refer  to  the  same  circumstance.  This,  the  an- 
tiquarian to  whom  I  have  referred,  seems  satisfactorily  to  have  proved  ; 
for  it  had  often  been  supposed  that  such  numerals  referred  to  some 
series,  in  which  the  inscriptions  had  been  arranged.  But,  not  to  say 
that  any  such  series,  or  any  approximation  to  it,  cannot  be  discov- 
ered, these  cyphers  are  sometimes  inscribed  in  a  manner  which 
could  hardly  have  been  adopted,  were  they  simple  progressive  num- 

*  "  Alexander  mortuus  non  est,  sed  vivit  super  astra,  et  corpus  in 
hoc  tumuio  quiescit.  Vitara  explevit  cum  Antonono  Imp.  qui  ubi  niul- 
tum  benefitii  antevenire  provideret  pro  gratia  otium  reddit :  genua 
enim  flectens,  vero  Deo  sacrificaturus,  ad  supplicia  ducitiir.  O  tempe- 
ra infausta!  quibus  inter  sacra  et  vota  ne  in  cavernis  quidem  salvari 
possimus  I  Quid  miserius  vita  ?  sed  quid  miserius  in  inorte,  cum  ab 
amicis  et  parentibussepeiiri  nequeant  I" — Aringhi,  "  Rotna  Subtorranea," 
torn.  ii.  p.  685. 

t  Visconti,  pp.112,  113. 
38 


298  LECTURE  THE  NINTH. 

bers.  For  instance,  they  are  sometimes  surrounded  by  a  wreath, 
supported  by  doves  :  in  the  one  place,  the  word  triginta,  thirty,  is 
written  at  full,  with  the  monogram  of  Christ's  name  before  and  after, 
which  excludes  all  idea  of  its  being  merely  a  reference  to  a  progres- 
sive series ;  in  another,  the  number  xv.  is  followed  by  IN  Pace,  in 
peace.  The  conjecture  that  such  simple  inscriptions  record  the 
death  of  as  many  martyrs  as  the  numbers  signify,  passes  into  absolute 
certainty,  when  confirmed  by  a  passage  in  Prudentius,  writing  on  tbe 
catacombs  while  the  traditions  regarding  them  were  yet  fresh : — 
"  There  are  many  marbles,"  he  tells  us,  "  closing  tombs,  which  on- 
ly indicate  a  number  ;  you  thus  know  how  many  bodies  lie  piled  to- 
gether ;  but  you  read  not  their  names.  I  remember  I  learnt  there, 
that  the  remains  of  sixty  bodies  were  buried  under  one  heap." 

"  Sunt  et  multa  tamen  lacitas  claudentia  tiimbas 
Marmora  quae  solum  significant  iiumerutn. 

Quanta  virum  jaceant  congestis  corpora  acervis 
Scire  licet  quorum  nomina  nulla  legas. 

Sexaginta  illic  defossa  mole  sub  una 

Reliquias  memini  me  dlcidisse  hominum."* 

These  verses  leave  us  nothing  to  desire  ;  they  put  us  in  possession 
of  a  great  many  inscriptions,  which  while  they  only  record  numbers, 
prove  most  sufficiently  that  they  were  truly  many,  who,  in  those  first 
ages,  bore  testimony  to  the  Lord  Jesus. 

But  a  new  antiquarian  difficulty  here  meets  us.  For  Burnet  has 
asserted,  that  no  monument  has  been  found  whereby  it  can  be  proved 
that  the  Christians  possessed  the  catacombs  before  the  fourth  centu- 
ry.t  General  negative  assertions  are  always  easy  to  make,  and, 
doubtless,  hard  to  prove  ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  they  are  the  easiest 
to  confute,  for  one  instance  to  the  contrary  will  suffice.  So  it  is  here. 
One  only  of  the  numeral  inscriptions  already  explained  will  demon- 
strate all  that  we  want.     It  runs  thus  : — 

N.    XXX-    SURR.\-    ET    SENEC     COSS- 

(30.  In  the  consulate  of  Surra  and  Senecio.) 

Now,  Surra  and  Senecio  were  consuls  in  the  year  of  Christ  107, 


*  "Carmina."  Route,  1788,  torn.  ii.  p.  1164,  Carm.  xi. 
\  "Some  leltcrs  from  Italy."  bond.  1734,  j).  ^24. 


ARCHA'.OLOCy.  '299 

the  very  era  of  Trajan's  persecution.  But  there  is  another  most  valu- 
able inscription  given  by  Marangoni,  which  places  this  question  out 
of  doubt.  It  is  that  of  Gaudentius,  an  architect,  whom  tliis  learned 
antiquarian  believes  to  have  been  the  director  in  building  the  Colos- 
seum. The  inscription  in  the  catacombs  tells  us  that  he  suffered 
death  under  Vespasian.  Nor  can  it  be  supposed  that  it  was  erected 
later  to  his  honor.  For  it  is  distinguished  by  a  particular  sort  of  ac- 
cents, or  apices,  over  some  syllables,  which  the  learned  Marini  has 
shown  to  have  been  in  use  only  from  Augustus  to  Trajan.*  Conse- 
quently, the  inscription  must  have  been  engraved  belbre  this  empe- 
ror's reign. 

These  inscriptions  are  a  strong  additional  evidence  what  num- 
bers must  have  laid  down  their  lives  for  the  faith,  and  have  thus  con- 
duced towards  confuting  a  powerful  objection  against  one  of  the  most 
interesting  and  beautiful  confirmations  of  Christianity. 

III.  Although  medals  and  inscriptions  may  justly  be  considered 
monuments,  yet  I  have  reserved  this  term  rather  for  the  class  of 
more  completely  commemorative  symbols,  which,  by  representations 
speaking  to  the  eye,  preserve  the  remembrance  of  great  events,  or  of 
the  practices  and  customs  of  ancient  times.  The  value  of  such 
monuments  must  be  very  great  ;  for  they  are  the  deliberate  commit- 
tal of  the  fame  of  generations  to  those  that  follow  them  ;  —  the  rep- 
resentatives and  substitutes  of  nations,  who,  knowing  themselves  to 
be  perishable  and  mortal,  have  erected  them,  fashioning  them  as 
best  they  could,  to  their  own  image  and  likeness,  —  have  clothed 
them  with  that  grandeur  and  splendor  which  might  best  symbolize 
their  own  estate,  —  have  written  on  them  all  the  thoughts  of  pride 
which  influenced  their  own  hearts,  —  have  embodied  in  them  all  the 
vastness  of  their  ambition,  and  the  immeasurableness  of  their  wishes, 
and  have  breathed  into  them  a  soul  of  silent  recollections,  an  appeal- 
ing power,  which  fastens  on  the  sympathies,  and  speaks  to  the  heart 
of  living  generations,  as  though  they  communed  with  the  concentra- 
ted energy  of  the  whole  extinguished  race.  And  alas  !  too  well  have 
they  made  them  in  general  typical  of  themselves  :  epigraphs,  like 
their  history,  an  enigma  for  the  scholar  to  pore  over  ;  ground-plans, 
like  their  constitutions,  a  ruinous  labyrinth  for  the  antiquarian  to  re- 
store ;  sculptured  images,  like  their  national  character,  time-worn 
and  featureless,  for  the  poet  to  muse  on  ;  mighty  fabrics,  like  the 


»  "  Atti  dei  Fratelli  Arvali,"  p.  760. 


300  LECTURE    THE    NINTH. 

mighty  men  who  raised  them,  disjointed,  mouldered,  scattered  into 
dust,  whereon  the  philosopher  may  meditate,  and  whereby  human 
pride  may  be  humbled.  But  a  far  sweeter  lesson  will  they  speak  to 
us,  if  man's  design,  or  providence's  guidance,  shall  have  somewhere 
caused  them  to  bear  any  slight  uneffaced  memorial  of  things  sacred 
to  us,  though  worthless  to  those  who  noted  them,  if,  as  among  the 
sculptured  images  on  Titus's  triumphal  arch,  the  emperors  who 
erected  them,  and  who  ride  thereon  in  triumph,  shall  have  been  muti- 
lated, disfigured,  and  almost  blotted  from  the  very  record  of  their 
greatness  ;  but  the  golden  candlestick  of  the  temple,  the  lamp  of 
holy  evidence,  shall  remain  upon  them, — a  trophy  then  of  war,  now 
of  prophecy, — a  token  to  them  of  victory,  and  to  us  of  unconquerable 
strength. 

In  the  last  century,  the  books  of  Moses  were  often  attacked  on 
account  of  grapes  and  vineyards  being  mentioned  in  them,*  and  per- 
haps wine,t  as  used  in  Egypt.f  For  Herodotus  expressly  tells  us. 
that  in  Egypt  there  were  no  vineyards,§  and  Plutarch  assures  us, 
that  the  natives  of  that  country  abhorred  wine,  as  being  the  blood  of 
those  who  had  rebelled  against  the  gods.||  So  conclusive  did  these 
authorities  appear,  that  the  contrary  statements  of  Diodorus,  Strabo, 
Pliny,  and  Athenaeus,  were  considered  by  the  learned  author  of  the 
"  Commentaries  on  the  laws  of  Moses,"  as  quite  overbalanced  by  the 
testimony  of  Herodotus  alone. ^  Hence,  he  concluded,  that  wine 
was  ordered  in  the  Jewish  sacrifices,  expressly  to  break  through  any 
Egyptian  prejudice  regarding  it,  and  detach  the  chosen  people  still 
more  from  their  overweaning  affection  for  that  country,  and  its  insti- 
tutions. In  this  opinion  he  has  been  followed  by  many  able  men. 
Dr.  Prichard  mentions  oblations  of  wine  among  those  rites,  which  stand 
either  "in  near  relation  or  contradiction  to  the  laws  of  Egypt;"** 
and  as  it  cannot  certainly  enter  into  the  first  of  these  classes,  I  presume 
we  must  consider  him  of  the  same  opinion  as  Michaelis.  So  long  as  the 
authority  of  Herodotus  was  thus  held  superior  to  the  concurrent  testi- 


*  Gen,  40:  0,  43:  13.  f  Num.  20:  5. 

X  See  Bullet,  "R6ponses  critiques,"  Besangon,  1819,  torn.  iii.  p.  142. 
Duclot's  "Bible  veug6e,"  Brescia,  IS21,  torn.  ii.  p.  244. 

§  Lib.  ii.  cap.  Ixxvii. 

II  "De  Iside  et  Osiride,"  §  6. 

H  Vol.  iii.  p.  J21.  seqq.  English  trans. 

**  "Analysis  of  Egyptian  mythology,"  p.  422.  Gu^n^e,  Lettres  de 
quelques  Juifrf."  Paris,  1821,  torn.  i.  p.  192. 


ARCHiEOLOGy.  301 

monies  of  other  writers,  the  reply  to  the  objection  was  necessarily 
feeble.  Accordingly,  we  find  the  authors  who  undertook  this  reply, 
either  having  recourse  to  conjecture,  from  the  improbability  of  such 
a  statement,  or  else  supposing  a  chronological  difference  of  circum- 
stances, and  a  change  of  customs  between  the  ages  of  Moses  and  He- 
rodotus. 

But  Egyptian  monuments  have  brought  the  question  to  issue,  and 
have,  of  course,  decided  in  favor  of  the  Jewish  legislator.  In  the 
great  description  of  Egypt,  published  by  the  French  government  after 
the  expedition  into  that  country,  M.  Costaz  describes  the  minute 
representation  of  the  vintage  in  all  its  parts,  as  painted  in  the  hypo- 
geae,  or  subterraneans  of  Eilithyia,  from  the  dressing  of  the  vine  to 
the  drawing  off  of  its  wine  ;  and  he  takes  Herodotus  severely  to  task 
for  his  denial  of  the  existence  of  vineyards  in  Egypt.* 

In  1825,  this  question  was  mooted  once  more  in  the  Journal  des 
Debats,  where  a  critic,  reviewing  a  new  edition  of  Horace,  took  oc- 
casion to  observe,  that  the  vinum  mareoticum  mentioned  in  the  37th 
Ode  of  the  first  book,  could  not  be  an  Egyptian  wine,  but  the  produc- 
tion of  a  district  in  Epirus  called  Mareotis.  This  was  in  the  paper 
of  June  26  ;  and  on  the  2d  and  6th  of  the  following  month,  Malte- 
Brun  examined  the  question  in  the  same  paper,  chiefly  in  reference 
to  the  authority  of  Herodotus  ;  but  his  proofs  went  no  further  back 
than  the  times  of  Roman  and  Grecian  dominion.  M.  Jomard,  how- 
ever, took  occasion  to  discuss  the  point  more  fully  ;  and  in  a  literary 
periodical,  better  suited  than  a  daily  paper  to  such  discussions,  pushed 
his  inquiries  into  the  times  of  the  Pharaohs.  In  addition  to  the 
painted  representations  already  quoted  by  Costaz,  he  appeals  to  the 
remains  of  amphorae,  or  wine  vessels,  found  in  the  ruins  of  old  Egyp- 
tian cities,  and  as  yet  encrusted  with  the  tartar  deposited  by  wine.t 
But  since  Champollion's  discovery  of  the  hieroglyphic  alphabet,  the 
question  may  be  considered  as  quite  decided  :  as  it  now  appears  cer- 
tain, not  only  that  vvine  was  known  in  Egypt,  but  that  it  was  used  in 
sacrifices.  For,  in  the  paintings  of  offerings,  we  have,  among  other 
gifts,  flasks  colored  red  up  to  the  neck,  which  remains  white,  as  if 
transparent ;  and  beside  them  is  read  in  hieroglyphics  the  word  EPTI, 
which,  in  Coptic,  signifies  wine.  J 


*  "  Description  de  I'Egypte,  Antiquitds  M6m."  torn.  i.  Faris^  1809, 
p.  62. 

f  "Bulletin  universal,"  7e  section,  torn.  4,  p.  78. 

+  "  Lettres  a  M.  le  Due  de  Blacas,"  1st  Lett.  p.  37. 


302  LECTURE    THE    NINTH. 

Rosellini  has  given,  in  the  plates  of  his  splendid  work,  represen- 
tations of  every  department  of  a  vintage  and  wine  manufactory.  But, 
before  this,  he  had  published  at  Florence  an  Egyptian  basso-rilievo, 
from  the  Grand-Ducal  gallery,  containing  a  prayer  in  hieroglyphics, 
as  he  supposes,  to  the  goddess  Athyr.  She  is  requested  to  bestow 
upon  the  deceased  wine,  milk,  and  other  good  things.  These  objects 
are  symbolized  by  vessels  supposed  to  contain  them,  with  their  names 
written  in  hieioglyphics  around  them.  Round  the  fiist  are  the 
feather,  mouth,  and  square,  the  phonetic  characters  of  the  letters 
riPU*  And  here  I  will  observe,  that  the  learned  Schweighauser, 
in  his  observations  on  Athenaeus,  appears  to  doubt  the  correctness  of 
Casaubon's  assertions,  that  tQuiq  was  the  Egyptian  for  wine,t  though 
proved  clearly  from  Eustathius  and  Lycophron.  Had  he  written 
after  this  discovery  of  the  word  in  hieroglyphics,  he  would  doubtless 
have  altered  his  opinion.  And  on  the  other  hand,  I  doubt  not  but 
Champollion  and  Rosellini  would  have  confirmed  their  interpretation 
from  those  ancient  writers,  had  they  been  aware  of  their  testimony. 

Allow  me  now  to  claim  your  attention  to  an  extremely  curious 
monument,  which  seems  to  bear  no  other  explanation  but  such  as  we 
saw  given  to  the  Apamean  medals  ;  the  considering  it  as  commemo- 
rative of  the  deluge.  In  the  year  1696,  in  excavating  a  monument 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Rome,  a  workman  found  an  earthen  vase, 
covered  with  a  tile.  In  removing  this  the  cover  fell  and  broke. 
The  workmen  then  drew  out  a  number  of  seals  and  amulets,  con- 
sisting of  closed  hands,  oxen's  heads,  and  olive  berries  all  rudely 
worked  in  stone.  Below  these  he  felt  something  hard  and  even  ; 
and  in  his  impatience  to  discover  it,  broke  the  vase  in  two,  and  not 
so  satisfied,  broke  it  open  below :  upon  which  there  dropped  out  a 
bronze  circle,  which  had  fitted  exactly  into  the  lower  portion  of  the 

*  "Di  un  basso-rilievo  Egizlano  della  1.  e  R.  Galleria  di  Firenze," 
ib.  1826,  p.  40.  Wilkinson  has  also  read  the  same  word,  "  Materia 
hieroglypliica."  p.  16,  note  5. 

f  Athenaeus,  "Deipnosoph.  Epit."  lib.  ii.  torn.  1.  p.  148,  ed.  Scliwei- 
ghauser,  has  liie  word  t{)THi  in  a  quotation  from  Sappho,  though,  in 
another  passage,  (lib.  x.  torn.  4.  p.  55)  he  reads  olniv.  The  learned 
critic  seems  to  have  proved,  that  the  latter  is  the  correct  reading-. 
(Animadv.  in  Athen.  Argentoi,  1804,  torn,  v,  p.  375.)  This  discovery, 
however,  of  the  Egyptian  name  given  to  wine  by  ancient  writers,  in 
hieroglyphic  characters,  under  the  circumstances  noticed  in  the  text, 
must  be  considered  a  strong  corroboration  of  the  correctness  of  the 
phonetic  system. 


ARCHAEOLOGY.  303 

vase,  and  a  thin  plate,  which  evidently  had  covered  it.  It  had  no 
bottom  ;  but,  from  the  fibres  of  wood  which  were  found  mixed  with 
the  earth,  it  was  conjectured  that  this  was  originally  formed  of  that 
material.  At  the  same  time,  there  fell  out  a  number  of  figures  which 
I  will  presently  describe.  This  curious  monument  came  into  the 
possession  of  the  antiquarian  Ficoroni,  and  a  minute  account  of  it 
was  published  by  Bianchini  in  the  following  year.*  An  engraving 
accompanies  it,  very  rudely  executed  ;  but  a  later  edition  of  this 
exists,  without  date,  but  stating  below  that  the  objects  were  in  the 
house  of  the  Ab.  Giovanni  Domenico  Pennacchi.  From  this  I  have 
had  a  copy  made,  without  attending  to  the  imperfect  drawing  ex- 
hibited in  both  the  engravings,  which  are  sufficiently  different  from 
each  other  to  .show  that  perfect  accuracy  of  design  was  not  an  ob- 
ject in  either.  You  have  it  before  you,t  and  1  proceed  to  explain  it. 
The  figure  is  divided  into  three  compartments.  The  first,  on  the 
left  hand,  represents  the  vase  A,  made  of  earthen  ware,  of  a  different 
quality  from  ordinary  terra  coftas,  inasmuch  as  it  was  mixed  up  with 
shining  metallic  fragments,  and  bits  of  marble.  In  shape  it  some- 
what resembles  a  small  barrel,  or  the  vase  represented  on  the  Isiac 
pomp  in  the  Palazzo  Mattei.  The  figure  represents  it  as  it  was 
broken,  and  shows  the  distribution  of  the  trinkets  within  at  C.  Be- 
side it,  B  is  the  cover  which  was  found  upon  it.  Passing  to  the  sec- 
ond compartment,  you  have  the  shape  and  proportion  of  the  lower 
part  of  the  vase,  two  thirds  the  size  of  the  reality.  In  the  same  pro- 
portion nearly,  are  the  figures  distributed  in  this  and  the  third  com- 
partment. D  represents  the  metal  circle  which  lined  the  lower  por- 
tion of  the  vessel,  composed  of  small  plates  nailed  together,  as  if  in 
imitation  of  a  wooden  frame  work.  At  intervals  are  windows  or  open 
spaces,  with  shutters  over  them.  There  is  no  door,  but,  to  supply 
this  deficiency,  there  is  a  bronze  ladder  of  five  steps,  as  if  intended 
to  give  entrance  above.  The  structure  of  this  metal  box  seems  thus 
evidently  to  indicate  a  desire  of  representing  a  building  or  edifice, 
probably  of  wood,  not  to  be  entered  from  the  ground.  At  certain 
distances,  the  side  is  raised  higher  than  the  rim  of  this  little  chest, 
like  the  breast-works  of  a  battlement ;  two  of  these  elevations  appear 
in  the  design,  these  seemed  to  hold  on  the  cover,  which  was  fastened 
to  them  by  certain  metal  pins,  one  of  which,  fastened  in  the  cover, 
is  seen  at  E,  in  the  left  division. 


*  La  storia  universale  provata  coi  monumenti,"  pp.  178,  seqq. 
f  See  PI.  II,  prefixed  to  this  Volume. 


304  LECTURE    THE    NINTH. 

The  figures  consisted  of  twenty  couple  of  animals,*  twelve  of 
quadrupeds,  six  of  birds,  one  of  serpents,  and  one  of  insects.  There 
were  two  other  unpaired  insects,  the  fellows  of  which  were  probably 
lost  in  the  excavation.  The  animals  were  a  lion  and  lioness,  a 
couple  of  tigers,  horses,  asses,  deer,  oxen,  wolves,  foxes,  sheep,  hares, 
and  two  others  not  specified.  There  were,  besides,  thirty-five  hu- 
man figures,  some  single,  some  grouped  ;  but  all,  with  two  or  three 
exceptions,  showing  signs  of  trying  to  escape  from  drowning.  The 
hair  of  the  females  is  all  dishevelled,  and  they  are  borne  away  on  the 
shoulders  and  backs  of  the  men.  In  this  case  they  perform  the  task 
of  closing  the  mouth  and  nostrils  of  their  protectors.  Single  figures 
do  the  same  for  themselves.  All  are  represented  as  raised  to  their 
utmost  pitch  of  stature,  and  on  the  right  you  have  a  group  of  thfje 
figures  standing  upon  a  corpse  apparently  drowned,  as  if  to  add  some- 
what to  their  height.  The  figures  were  all  of  exquisite  workmanship, 
indicating  a  very  perfect  state  of  art,  with  the  exception  of  four, 
which  seem  to  have  been  supplied  by  a  much  ruder  hand.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  the  animals,  in  which  pieces  broken  or  lost 
seemed  to  have  been  supplied  in  later  times.  In  the  description  we 
are  nowhere  told  of  what  materials  the  figures  were  composed.  If  of 
bronze,  we  might  compare  them  to  the  number  of  little  images  of 
animals,  always  in  pairs,  found  in  Pompeii,  of  which  many  may  be 
seen  in  the  museum  of  Naples.  Neither  am  I  aware  what  has  since 
become  of  this  curious  relic. 

I  will  not  follow  the  learned  illustrator  of  this  monument  into  the 
variety  of  arguments  which  he  brings  to  prove  that  this  was  a  vase 
used  in  the  festival  of  the  hydrophorio,  or  commemoration  of  the 
deluge.  The  different  amulets  are  certainly  very  like  what  Clement 
Alexandrinus,  Arnobius,  and  others,  have  described  as  placed  by  the 
heathens  in  their  mystic  baskets  ;  but  if  the  one  given  in  the  Acts  of 
the  Academy  of  Cortona  be  correct,!  as  it  seems  most  probable,  this 
vessel  could  hardly  be  considered  as  belonging  to  that  class  of  monu- 
ments. I  must  observe,  that  a  chain  and  lock  were  found  close  to 
our  vase,  as  if  belonging  some  way  to  it. 

*  Bianchini,  in  his  description,  says  there  were  nineteen  couple  ; 
but  this  does  not  accord  with  his  enumeration  of  them  in  detail. 

\  "  Atii  (leir  Accademia  di  Cortona,"  Rome  1742,  torn.  i.  p.  65,  Cf. 
Also  the  dissertation  of  Prof.  Wonder,  "  De  discrimine  verborum  cislcB 
et  titellcR,''  in  his  "  Varise  lectiones  hbrorum  aliquot  M.  T.  Ciceronis  ex 
cod.  Erfurt."     Lips.  1827,  pp.  clviii.  seqq. 


ARCHJEOLOGY. 


305 


But  be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  difficult  to  give  any  other  explanation 
of  this  singular  little  monument,  than  what  must  obviously  strike  at 
once,  that  it  alludes  to  the  destruction  of  the  human  race,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few,  who,  with  pairs  of  animals,  were  saved  in  some 
species  of  ark  or  chest. 

In  my  last  lecture,  treating  of  the  chronology  of  Egypt,  as  now 
established  by  monuments,  I  mentioned  one  remarkable  synchronism 
of  Shishak  and  Relioboam,  as  given  by  Rosellini.  This  king  of 
Egypt,  is  totally  omitted  by  Herodotus  and  Diodorus,  though  Mane- 
tho  mentions  him  under  the  name  of  Sesonchis,  as  founder  of  the 
22d  dynasty.  I  mentioned  the  discovery  of  several  monuments  bear- 
ing the  name  of  this  king  as  Shishonk.  This  agreement  between 
the  two  annals  in  so  definite  a  manner,  makes  this  point  the  proper 
basis  of  any  system  of  Egyptian  chronology,  and  as  such  Rosellini 
takes  it.  But  I  reserved  for  this  meeting,  one  monument  completely 
establishing  this  harmony,  and  affording,  at  the  same  time,  one  of 
the  most  striking  confirmations  yet  discovered  of  sacred  history. 
This  I  proceed  to  lay  before  you. 

The  first  book  of  Kings  (14:  24)  and  the  second  of  Chronicles 
(12:  2)  inform  us,  that  Shishak,  king  of  Egypt,  came  against  Juda, 
in  the  fifth  year  of  Rehoboam,  with  1,200  chariots  and  60,000  horse- 
men, and  a  countless  host ;  that,  after  taking  the  fortified  places  of 
the  country,  he  approached  to  besiege  Jerusalem,  that  the  king  and 
people  humbled  themselves  before  God,  and  that  he,  taking  pity  on 
them,  promised  them,  that  he  would  notdestroy  them,  but  still  should 
give  them  into  the  invader's  hand  to  be  his  slaves  ;  "  nevertheless 
they  shall  be  his  servants,  that  they  may  know  my  service,  and  that 
of  the  kingdoms  of  the  nations."  Shishak  therefore  came  and  took 
the  spoil  of  the  temple,  and  among  it  the  golden  shields  which  Solo- 
mon had  made*  In  the  great  court  of  Karnak,  the  exploits  of  this 
mighty  conqueror,  and  restorer  of  the  Egyptian  power,  are  represent- 
ed at  full.  We  might  naturally  expect  this  conquest  of  Juda  to  be 
included  among  them,  the  more  so  as  that  kingdom  might  be  con- 
sidered at  its  zenith,  just  after  Solomon  had  overawed  all  neighbor- 
ing nations  by  his  splendid  magnificence.  Let  us  see  if  this  is  so. 
In  the  representations  at  Karnak,  Shishak  is  exhibited,  according  to 
an  image  familiar  in  Egyptian  monuments,  as  holding  by  the  hair  a 
crowd  of  kneeling  figures  heaped  together,  and  with  his  right  hand 

*  2  Chron.  12:  8. 
39 


306  LECTURE    THE    NINTH. 

raised  up,  ready  with  one  blow  of  his  battle-axe  to  destroy  them  all. 
Besides  these,  the  god  Ammon-Ra,  drives  forwards  towards  him  a 
crowd  of  captives,  with  their  hands  tied  behind  them.  If  the  first 
group  represent  those  whom  he  destroyed,  the  second  may  well  be 
supposed  to  contain  those  whom  he  only  made  his  servants,  or  simply 
overcame,  and  subjected  to  tribute.  According  to  the  promise  made 
him,  the  king  of  Juda  was  to  be  in  this  class,  and  in  it  we  must  look 
for  him.  Among  the  figures  of  captive  kings  we  accordingly  find 
one,  with  a  physiognomy  perfectly  Jewish,  as  Rosellini  observes. 
He  has  not  as  yet  given  the  copy  of  this  monument,  though  he  has 
the  legend;*  but  that  you  may  convince  yourselves  how  truly  ?«ie- 
gyptiun,  and  how  completely  Hebrew  the  countenance  of  this  per- 
sonage is,  I  have  had  it  exactly  copied  for  you,  from  the  engraving 
published  of  it  at  Paris,  by  Champollion.t  (PI.  HI.)  The  profile, 
with  its  beard,  is  every  way  Jewish,  and  to  make  this  more  apparent, 
I  have  placed  beside  it  an  Egyptian  head,  quite  characteristic  of  the 
natural  type.  Each  of  these  captive  monarchs  bears  a  shield,  in- 
dented as  if  to  represent  the  fortifications  of  a  city  ;  and  on  this  is 
written  a  hieroglyphic  legend,  which  we  may  suppose  to  designate 
who  he  is.  Most,  if  not  all  the  shields  are  so  far  defaced,  as  to  be 
no  longer  legible,  except  that  borne  by  our  Jewish  figure,  which  re- 
mains, as  you  see  it  in  the  drawing.  The  two  feathers  are  the  let- 
ters J.  E. ;  the  bird  OU. ;  the  open  hand,  D.  or  T.  ;  thus  we  have 
Jeoud,  the  Hebrew  for  Juda.  The  next  five  characters  represent  the 
letters,  H.  A.  M.  L.  K.,  and  supplying  the  vowels,  usually  omitted  in 
hieroglyphics,  we  have  the  Hebrew  word  with  its  article,  Hamelek, 
the  king.  The  last  character  always  stands  for  the  word  Kali,  a 
country.  Thus  we  have  a  clear  demonstration  that  this  was  the 
king  of  Juda,  treated  just  as  the  Scripture  tells  us  he  was,  reduced  to 
servitude  by  Shishak  or  Shishonk,  king  of  Egypt.  Well  may  we 
say,  that  no  monument  ever  yet  discovered,  gives  such  new  confirm- 
atory evidence  to  the  authenticity  of  Scripture  history.  I  will  close 
my  observations,  by  remarking  that  Paravey  thinks  a  resemblance 
clearly  discernible  between  the  face  of  the  king  of  Juda,  and  the  re- 
ceived type  of  our  Saviour's  countenance,  particularly  in  the  lower 
part;  and  thus  a  family  likeness  would  exist  between  the  ancestor 
and  descendant. 


*  "I  irionumenti  dell'  Egitto,"  Parte  i.  Monum,  stor.  Tom.  ii.  p.  79. 
f  In  liis  "Lpttres  ^-crites  d'Egypte." 


ARCHiEOLOOY. 


307 


Let  these  examples  suffice ;  for,  when  I  remember  where  wc  are, 
in  the  very  heart  and  citadel  of  this  science,  where  its  great  influen- 
ces are  drunk  in  by  every  sen^e,  and  we  ourselves  become  as  it  were 
identified  with  the  recollections  of  its  sacred  monuments,  I  foel  as  if 
the  detailing  of  a  few  insignificant  instances  of  its  power  to  aid  our 
faith,  must  Appear  almost  a  needless  importunity.  There  has  been 
one  who  sat  upon  the  ruins  of  this  city,  and  was  led,  by  the  train  of 
reflections  they  suggested,  to  plan  that  work  upon  its  later  history, 
to  which  I  have  to  day  referred, 

"Sapping  a  soleirm  creed  with  soletrm  sneer." 

But  surely  a  believing  mind  must  rise  from  such  a  meditation 
with  very  different  feelings,  oppressed,  indeed,  with  the  whole  weight 
of  his  natural  feebleness,  humbled  in  spirit  before  the  colossal  wrecks 
of  matchless  grandeur,  more  than  ever  sunk  into  littleness  before  the 
memorials:of  almost  superhuman  power  ;  but  at  the  same  time  cheer- 
ed- by  other  and  more  consoling  thoughts.  For  even  those  heathen 
monuments  have  many  holy  recollections;  of  the  three  triumphal 
arches,  one  records  the  fulfilment  of  a  great  prophecy,  the  other  the 
triumph  of  Christianity  over  heathenism  ;  and  the  Flavian  amphi- 
theatre was  once  the  scene  of  the  martyrs'  witnessing.  And  surely, 
whatever  creed  any  may  profess,  he  cannot  visit,  but  with  soothed 
and  solemn  feeling,  those  many  old  and  venerable  churches  which 
stand  alone  amidst  the  ruins  of  ancient  buildings,  not  because  they 
were  erected  in  solitude,  but  because,  like  the  insulated  cones  that 
rise  on  the  flanks  of  mountains,  the  inundations  of  many  ages  have 
washed  down  around  them,  the  less  durable  masses  that  enclosed 
and  connected  them  together.  And  if  he  enter  some  of  these,  and 
see  them  yet  retaining  all  their  parts,  and  decorations,  even  as  they 
were  in  early  times,  so  unmoved,  so  unchanged,  as  if  the  very  atmos- 
phere breathed  in  them  by  the  ancient  Christians,  had  not  been  dis- 
turbed •  meihinks  it  were  not  difficult  for  you  to  feel,  for  some  short 
space  as  they  did,  to  wish  that  all  else  had  suff-ered  as  small  mutation, 
and  long  that  religion  could  once  more  strike  its  roots  as  deeply  into 
our  hearts  as  it  did  into  theirs,  and  if  it  produce  no  more  the  mar- 
tyr's palm,  put  forth  at  least  the  olive  branch  of  peace.  And  where- 
ever  we  move  among  the  remains  of  the  ancient  cty,  whether  in 
search  of  amusement  or  instruction,  there  is  caught  a  tone  of  mind 
which  the  most  thoughtless  cannot  escape,  essentially  subuu.ng  ot  all 


308  LECTURE    THE    NINTH. 

selfish  and  particular  feelings,  an  approximation  to  a  religious  frame 
of  soul,  which  shows  how  necessarily  the  destruction  of  all  mere 
earthly  power,  was  a  preliminary  step  to  the  introduction  of  a  more 
spiritual  influence,  even  as  the  contemplation  of  that  destruction 
opens  the  way  to  that  influence's  personal  action.  And  thus  may 
we  say  that  archaeology,  the  study  of  ruins  and  of  monuments,  while 
it  enlightens  and  delights  us,  may  well  form  the  basis  of  the  strongest 
religious  impressions,  and  individual  evidences. 


LECTURE    THE    TENTH 


ORIENTAL  STUDIES. 


PART  I. 
SACRED    LITERATURE, 


Introductory  Remarks  on  the  connexion  of  these  studies  with  relig- 
ion. Critical  Science.— Its  objects  and  principles.  Old  Testa- 
ment.—Uouh'igant,  Michaelis,  Kennicott,  De  Rossi.— Encouragement 
given  by  Rome  to  these  studies.  JVetv  Tesiamen^— Anticipations  of 
Free-thinkers.— Wetstein,  Griesbach.  Results:  1.  Proof  ol)tained 
of  the  purity  of  the  text  in  general ;  2.  Authentication  of  particular 
passages  ;  3.  Security  against  future  discoveries.— Confutation  of  an 
anecdote  related  by  Michaelis  and  Dr.  Marsh.     Sacred  Philology. 

Hebrcic   Grammar — Its  origin  among  Christians. — Reuchlin  and 

Pelicanus,  etc.  Application  of  cognate  Dialects,  De  Dieu,  Schul- 
tens:  Dutch  School  of  Sacred  Literature.  —  German  School; 
Michaelis,  Storr,  Gesenius.— His  application  of  it  to  invalidate  the 
prophecy  of  is.  lii.  liii.— Confutation  of  his  rule  by  later  Grammari- 
ans ;  Ewald.  Hermeneutical  Studies.— 1.  Use  made  of  this  science 
to  attack  the  character  of  the  Fathers. — Vindication  of  them,  drawn 
from  the  very  progress  of  the  study.  Winer,  Clausen,  RosenmUller. 
2.  Vindication  of  the  old  Catholic  Commentators  by  the  same  ad- 
vance. 3.  Attacks  upon  Scripture,  principally  the  Projjhecies,  drawn 
from  the  imperfect  state  of  Biblical  henneneutics  ;  the  Rationalist 
■  School. — Return  to  sound  principles.— Hengstenberg.  4.  Practical 
application  of  Philology  to  the  refutation  of  objections  made  to  the 
genuineness  of  Matt.  i.  ii.  from  expressions  therein  used. 

The  east  has  already  more  than  once  engaged  our  attention  ; 
and  assuredly  it  would  be  vain  to  look  for  collateral  evidences  of 
Christianity,  or  documents  confirmatory  of  its  sacred  writings,  with 
greater  chance  of  success,  in  any  other  country  than   in  that  which 


310  LECTURE    THE    TENTH. 

gave  it  birth.  The  east  bears  a  character  in  regard  to  us,  and  the 
entire  human  race,  which  no  relative  situation  can  ever  alter  ;  to 
the  scholar  and  philosopher,  it  oi)ens  a  mine  of  reflections,  sacred 
and  historical,  which  yields  every  time  it  is  farther  explored,  new  and 
exhaustless  treasures.  It  is  the  womb  of  nations,  not  only  where 
the  species  originally  came  into  being,  and  was  renewed  after  the 
deluge,  but  whence  by  a  power  given  to  no  other  portion  of  the  globe, 
successive  races  of  men  have  come  forth,  pushing  forward  each  other 
as  waves  to  the  shore,  from  the  unmoved  calm  of  the  ocean.  Ap- 
parently, without  the  power  of  giving  the  last  development  of  intel- 
lectual^ energy  to  its  own  inhabitants,  it  hath  so  fitted  and  prepared 
them,  that  under  proper  influences,  they  have  advanced  to  every 
possible  degree  of  civilization,  of  culture,  and  of  power. 

For,  so  long  as  they  remain  in  their  native  birth-place,  as  though 
it  were  but  a  nursery  wherein  their  growth  is  stunted,  the  nations  of 
Asia  appear  incapable  of  rising  above  a  certain  degree  of  moral  pre- 
eminence. While  physical  life  seems  brought  to  the  highest  possi- 
ble perfection  :  while  every  luxury  which  nature  has  bestowed  upon 
the  world  is  there  a  gift  rather  than  a  production ;  while  the  out- 
ward vesture  of  man,  his  corporeal  endowments  of  beauty,  agility, 
strength,  and  temperate  endurance,  is  dressed  out  in  surpassing  ex- 
cellence ;  while  every  institution  of  government,  of  morality,  of  soci- 
ety, and  religion,  bears  the  impress  of  a  sensuous  happiness,  carried 
to  its  highest  stretch  of  gratifying  power  ;  there  is  a  boundary  set  up- 
on all  these  qualities,  a  separation  impassable  between  them  and  a 
nobler  order  of  excellence;  the  civilization  there  can  never  give  full 
growth  to  the  spirit's  wings,  to  raise  it  into  the  higher  regions  of  pure 
intellectual  enjoyment ;  the  inventive  powers  are  forever  supplied  by 
mere  contriving  skill ;  the  steadiness  of  rule  is  replaced  by  boister- 
ous and  transitory  conquest,  or  by  stagnant  despotism;  and  civiliza- 
tion stands,  age  after  age,  at  a  dull  unvarying  level,  seldom  sinking 
below,  and  never  rising  above  an  appointed  mark. 

But  this  strange  contrast  between  the  inhabitants  of  Asia,  and 
those  races  which,  when  once  issued  from  it,  have  shown  such  mar- 
vellous powers  of  thought  and  design  is,  withal,  a  source  of  great 
and  interesting  advantages.  For  it  gives  to  the  former  a  fixed  and 
unaltering  character,  which  enables  the  latter  to  trace  back  their 
history  and  institutions  into  the  remotest  ages,  and  gives  connexions 
between  the  present  and  the  past,  which  must  otherwise  have  been 
effaced,  and  which  afford  us  now  many  rich  and  valuable  illustra- 


SACRED    LITERATURE.  311 

tions  of  our  mosi  sacred  monuments.  Vain  would  be  the  attempt  to 
discover  the  state  of  any  country  in  Europe,  of  Germany,  for  instance, 
of  Britain,  or  of  France,  two  thousand  years  ago,  from  such  institu- 
tions, habits  or  appearances,  as  yet  remain.  Except  the  great  un- 
changeable features  of  nature,  mountains,  seas,  and  rivers,  nothing 
is  there  which  has  not  been  altered  and  modified  ;  languages,  govern- 
ment, arts  and  cultivation,  the  face  of  the  field,  the  countenance  of 
man,  all  is  different,  and  gives  tokens  of  complicated  change.  But  if 
we  travel  to  the  east,  it  is  far  otherwise.  We  find  the  Chinese,  just 
as  his  oldest  literature  describes  him  ;  we  have  the  wandering  Mon- 
gols and  Turcomans,  with  their  waggon-houses  and  herds,  leading 
the  Scythian's  life  ;  we  see  the  Brahmin  performing  the  same  ablu- 
tion in  the  sacred  river,  going  through  the  same  works  of  painful 
ceremony,  as  did  the  ancient  gymnosophit;ts,  or  rather  as  is  pre- 
scribed in  his  sacred  books  of  earlier  date ;  and  still  more,  we  dis- 
cover the  Arab,  drinking  at  the  same  wells,  traversing  the  same 
paths,  as  did  the  Jew  of  old,  on  his  pilgrim  journeys ;  tilling  the 
earth  with  the  same  implements,  and  at  the  same  seasons  ;  building 
his  house  on  the  same  model ;  and  speaking  almost  the  same  lan- 
guage as  the  ancient  possessors  of  the  promised  land. 

Hence,  it  follows,  that  innumerable  illustrations  of  holy  writ  may 
be  found  at  every  step,  through  that  blessed  country.  But,  inde- 
pendently of  this,  there  is  comprised  in  that  unchanging  uniformity 
of  more  eastern  nations,  a  tenacious  grasp  of  all  great  traditions,  an 
earnestness  in  the  preservation  of  all  that  records  the  primeval  histo- 
ry of  man  ;  and  thus  is  given  us,  in  the  present,  a  test  which  cannot 
deceive  us,  when  used  to  assay  what  is  delivered  of  the  past ;  a 
means  of  collecting  links,  otherwise  irretrievably  dispersed,  of  that 
chain  which  continues  the  history  of  man's  mind,  from  the  first- 
taught  lessons  of  his  childhood  to  the  bolder  thoughts  of  manlier 
years. 

Having  now  entered  upon  that  department  which  more  strictly 
forms  my  own  particular  pursuit,  and  feeling  the  materials  whereof  it 
is  composed  more  immediately  under  my  hand,  my  principal  difficul- 
ty to-day,  and  in  my  next  lecture,  will  consist  in  selecting,  out  of  in- 
numerable examples,  a  k\v  of  more  general  interest,  and  in  confin- 
ing myself  to  such  sim]>le  outlines  of  things  capable  of  much  higher 
finish,  as  may  be  easily  retained.  And  I  will  divide  my  subject  into 
two  portions,  treating  to-day  of  sacred,  and  at  our  next  meeting  of 
profane,  oriental  literature. 


31l2  LECTURE  THE  TENTH. 

The  portion  of  my  task  which  I  have  allotted  to  this  day,  I  shall 
divide  under  the  two  heads  of  critical  and  philological  pursuits.  For, 
to  preserve  some  measure  of  proportion  between  this  and  our  next 
entertainment,  I  must  place  under  the  head  of  profane  studies,  such 
antiquarian  illustrations  as  are  drawn  from  uninspired  sources.  The 
subject  of  this  day's  Lecture  will  wholly  consist  of  such  studies  as 
have  the  Scriptural  text  alone  in  view. 

Of  all  these  pursuits,  critical  science  may  be  justly  considered  the 
very  foundation.  For,  if  the  understanding  the  words  of  Scripture 
aright,  necessarily  form  the  ground-work  of  all  true  interpretation, 
the  reading  of  them  correctly  must  be  a  preliminary  step  to  that  ac- 
curate understanding.  Now,  the  science  of  sacred  criticism  under- 
takes this  office.  First,  it  investigates  what  are  the  true  words  of 
any  single  text,  it  examines  all  the  varieties  which  may  exist  therein  ; 
and,  weighing  the  arguments  in  favor  of  each,  decides  which  read- 
ing the  commentator  or  translator  should  prefer.  But  then  it  goes 
further,  and  generalizes  its  results,  by  inquiring  into  the  correct- 
ness of  the  entire  sacred  volume,  after  the  revolutions  of  so  many 
ages. 

The  influence  of  this  study  upon  the  Christian  evidences  is  man- 
ifestly very  great.  For,  as  to  its  particular  application,  very  rnuch 
may  be  gained  or  lost,  by  a  word  or  a  syllable.  The  application  to 
Christ  of  the  beautiful  prophecy.  Psalms  22  :  16,  "  they  pierced 
my  hands  and  feet,"  is  disputed  by  the  Jews,  and  by  all  theolo- 
gians of  the  rationalist  school  ;  and  the  dispute  turns  entirely  upon 
the  reading  of  the  words.  For,  the  present  reading  of  the  Hebrew 
text  gives  a  totally  different  meaning  to  the  passage,  that  is,  "  as  a 
lion  are  my  hands  and  feet ;"  and  innumerable  are  the  disquisitions 
published  upon  the  true  reading  of  the  text.  In  the  New  Testa- 
ment, it  is  singular  that  the  most  important  passages  aifecting  the 
Socinian  controversy,  should  be  in  the  same  condition  ;  and  form 
the  subject  of  the  most  complicated  critical  investigations.  I  hardly 
need  mention  the  endless  dispute,  whether  the  celebrated  verse  of 
the  Three  Witnesses,  1  Jo.  5:7,  be  a  part  of  the  original  text,  or  a 
later  interpolation.  But  besides  this,  another  most  important  pas- 
sage, bearing  upon  the  same  dogma,  is  in  a  still  more  curious  posi- 
tion. This  is  1  Tim.  3:  16,  where  a  serious  dispute  exists,  whether 
we  should  read,  "  God  appeared  in  the  flesh,"  or  "  vAo  appeared  in 
the  flesh  ;"  and  this  dispute  has  been  not  only  contested  witii  the 
pen,  but  has  literally  been  made  the  object  of  microscopic  investiga- 


SACRED    LITERATURE.  313 

tion.  For  it  turns  upon  this ;  whether  the  word  in  the  most  celebra- 
ted manuscripts  be  OC,  ivho,  or  GC,  the  abbreviation  for  Qiog,  God. 
Now,  the  pronoun  and  the  abbreviation  are  the  same,  excepting  in 
the  transverse  stroke,  which,  passing  through  the  9,  distinguishes  it 
from  the  O,  and  in  the  line  drawn  over  it,  as  a  sign  of  abbreviation. 
Some,  for  instance,  assert,  that  in  the  celebrated  Alexandrian  man- 
uscript in  the  British  Museum,  these  lines  are  added  by  a  later  hand ; 
all  agree  that  they  have  been  most  imprudently  retouched.  Others 
have  maintained  that  some  remnants  of  the  original  stroke  might  be 
seen  in  a  strong  light,  with  the  aid  of  a  good  lens ;  and  their  oppo- 
nents again  rejoin,  that  it  was  only  the  transverse  stroke  of  a  letter 
on  the  other  side  of  the  page,  which  appeared  through  the  vellum, 
when  raised  to  the  sun.*  In  fine,  this  dispute  has  been  continued, 
and  the  passage  positively  handled,  till  strokes  and  letters,  retouch- 
ings and  originals,  have  been  equally  cancelled,  and  the  decision  for 
posterity  must  rest  on  what  judgment  it  can  form  from  so  many  con- 
flicting testimonies.  A  similar  variety  of  opinion  exists  regarding 
the  passage  in  another  most  celebrated  Paris  manuscript,  called  the 
"  Codex  Ephrem  ;"  Woide,  Griesbach,  and  Less,  e^xamined  it,  yet 
could  not  ascertain  which  is  its  true  reading. 

But  the  great  and  most  important  office  of  this  study,  particularly 
in  connexion  with  the  object  of  these  lectures,  consists  in  giving  ua 
the  means  of  deciding  how  far  the  text  of  Scripture,  as  we  now  pos- 
sess it,  is  free  from  essential  alterations,  and  corruptions  ;  and  con- 
sequently, in  removing  all  our  anxiety  and  uneasiness  regarding  its 
interpretation.  And  to  show  how  far  it  has  been  successful  in  its 
researches,  I  will  briefly  sketch  out  the  history  of  the  science,  as  ex- 
ercised upon  the  texts  of  both  Old  and  New  Testaments. 

I  need  not  say,  that,  from  the  earliest  ages  of  the  Church,  the  ne- 
cessity of  having  correct  texts,  and  the  duty  of  taking  pains  to  pro- 
cure them,  were  fully  admitted  ;t  with  this  difference,  that,  as  the 
language  of  the  Old  Testament  was  little  known  to  Christians,  their 
labors  were  chiefly  directed  to  the  perfecting  of  their  versions.  Ori- 
gen,  Eusebius,  Lucian,  and  other  learned  Greeks,  dedicated  their 
talents  to  this  object,  purged  the  Septuagint  version  of  the  errors 


*  See  Woide  "  Notilia  Cod.  Alexandrini,"   Lips.   1788,  p.  172,  § 
Ixxxvii. 

t  "Codicibus  emendandis  primitus  debet  invigilare  solurti;i  eorum 
qui  Scripturas  nosse  desiderant."     St.  Aug.  "  De  Doctiina  Christiana," 
lib.  ii.  cap.  14,  torn.  iii.  pa.  i.  p.  27.  ed.  Maur. 
40 


314  LECTURE    THE    TENTH. 

which  had  gradually  crept  into  it,  and  produced  different  texts,  yet 
discernible  in  the  different  MSS.  of  that  translation.  In  the  West, 
St.  Jerome,  Cassiodorus,  and  Alcuin,  took  no  less  pains  with  the 
Latin  version.  But  all  the  ecclesiastical  writers  who,  besides  those 
already  enumerated,  occupied  themselves  with  critical  subjects,  par- 
ticularly St.  Augustine,  and  Ven.  Bede,  repeatedly  acknowledged 
the  necessity  of  having  recourse  to  the  originals,  and  endeavoring, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  procure  a  correct  text.* 

When  the  study  of  Hebrew  began  to  be  more  cultivated  among 
Christians,  and  the  invention  of  printing  made  its  text  accessible  to 
all,  there  s])rung  up  an  important  controversy  upon  its  accuracy.  In 
many  most  important  passages,  as  the  one  I  have  cited  from  Ps.  xxii, 
it  was  found  to  differ  from  the  versions  then  in  use  ;  and  suspicions 
were  raised  against  the  Jews,  who  had  so  long  monopolised  it,  as 
though  they  had  taken  advantage  of  that  circumstance,  to  alter  and 
strangely  corrupt  the  original  text,  in  divers  places.  Hence,  many 
assumed  that  the  versions  were  to  be  preferred  to  the  original  ;  — 
others  of  more  moderate  principles,  that  this  was  at  least  to  be  cor- 
rected by  them.  But,  even  before  critical  studies  had  received  their 
full  development,  or  been  reduced  to  principles,  which  in  every  sci- 
ence, must  follow,  not  precede  observation,  the  accurate  examination 
of  almost  every  passage  quoted  in  support  of  these  opinions,  was 
found  to  lead  to  their  confutation  ;  and  the  Jews  were  proved  upon 
incontestable  evidence  to  have  preserved  the  sacred  volume  free  from 
all  intentional  alteration.  Such  is  the  judgment  which  all  now  agree 
in  pronouncing  on  the  animated,  folio  controversies  between  Cap- 
pellus  and  the  Buxtorfs. 

Still  there  were  many  who  were  not  convinced  ;  and  their  obsti- 
nacy led  to  the  most  important  step  in  this  branch  of  sacred  literature, 
to  laying  the  foundation  of  all  satisfactory  critical  investigation,  by 
the  collection  of  various  readings  from  the  examination  of  MSS.,  ver- 
sions, and  ancient  quotations.  Such  at  least  was  the  motive  which 
excited  the  industry  of  F.  Houbigant.  He  fancied  that  the  Hebrew 
text  was  essentially  corrupt  ;  and  therefore  attem])ted,  in  1753,  to 
publish  it  in  four  splendid  folios,  purged  of  its  errors,  and  restored  to 
its  original  purity,  by  the  examination  of  several  manuscripts  in  the 


*  "  Ul)i  cum  ex  adveiso  audieris  proba,  non  confugias  ad  exempla 
veriora,  vol  plurium  codicum,  vel  autiquorum,  vel  lingua?  pr.Tecedentis, 
nride  hoc  in  aliam  linguain  interpretatum  est."  Adv.  Faust.  lib.  x.  cap.  2, 
torn.  vii.  \\  219. 


SACRED    r.ITERATinK.  315 

libraries  of  Paris,  and  by  the  comparison  of  the  oldest  version;*.  Rash 
as  were  at  once  his  theories  and  their  application,  no  alarm  was  felt 
by  the  friends  of  religion,  lest  they  might  lead  to  any  serious  conse- 
quences,—  no  obstacles  were  thrown  in  his  vvay  by  his  ecclesiastical 
superiors,  and  the  Pope  sent  him  a  splendid  gold  medal,  as  a  testi- 
mony of  approbation  for  his  industry  and  zeal.* 

This  same  path  was,  however,  pursued  upon  higher  and  better 
motives  by  other  learned  men.  John  Henry  Michaelis,  whose  repu- 
tation has  been  unjustly  much  eclipsed  by  that  of  his  nephew,  pub- 
lished in  1720,  after  thirty  years'  incessant  labor,  an  edition  of  the 
Bible,  with  notes,  in  which,  among  other  valuable  matter,  are  given 
the  varieties  discoverable  in  three  manuscripts  preserved  at  Erfurt. 
Our  own  country,  however,  has  the  merit  of  producing  the  greatest 
and  most  valuable  work  on  this  important  science,  the  one  to  which 
all  later  researches  must  necessarily  be  attached  as  supplements  and 
appendixes.  The  learned  Benjamin  Kennicott  occupied  more  than 
ten  years  in  preparing  the  materials  for  his  great  critical  Bible,  which 
issued  from  the  Clarendon  Press  in  1776,  and  1780.  For  this  pur- 
pose, he  did  not  content  himself  with  collating  all  the  manuscripts  in 
England,  but  extended  his  researches  over  all  the  continent,  and 
every  where  received  the  most  liberal  encouragement.  The  results 
of  his  labors,  and  every  interesting  discovery  which  they  made,  he 
communicated  to  the  public  every  year  in  an  annual  report,  which 
kept  alive  the  interest  of  the  learned,  from  the  first  announcement,  to 
the  completion  of  his  herculeati  work. 

Nothing  has  been  more  common  than  to  charge  us  who  dwell  in 
Rome,  and  particularly  those  who  have  authority  here,  with  dis- 
couraging all  critical  research,  especially  in  sacred  literature,  and 
with  throwing  every  obstacle  in  the  way  of  those  who  cultivate  it.  I 
shall  have  to  advert,  a  little  later,  to  a  specific  charge  of  this  nature  ,* 
but  the  conduct  and  feeling  manifested  in  Rome  towards  Kennicott 
and  his  undertaking,  affords  sufficient  proof  of  how  groundless  are 
such  accusations.  He  himself  tells  us,  that  the  first  place  which 
gave  him  encouragement,  and  offered  him  assistance,  was  Rome  ; 
and  he  gives  us  the  following  letter,  written  to  him  by  Card.  Passi- 
onei,  librarian  to  the  Vatican,  dated  May  IG,  1761,  and  entitled  by 
him,  "  The  Roman  Testimonial." 

"  The  undertaking  of  a  new  edition  of  the  Bible  to  be  made  at 

*  See  Orme'e  "  Bibliotheca  Biblica  :"  Art.  Houuigant 


316  LECTURE    THE    TENTH. 

Oxford  upon  all  the  Heb.  MSS.  existing  in  the  most  celebrated 
libraries,  has  here  met  as  many  approvers  as  persons  who  have  heard 
it  mentioned.  And  to  favor  the  author  of  so  important  a  work,  I 
have  permitted  with  pleasure,  the  collation  of  the  ancient  Hebrew 
MSS.  existing  in  the  Vatican  Library,  and  I  have  granted  it  officially 
as  Librarian  of  the  Holy  R,oman  Church."* 

In  1772,  F.  Fabricy,  a  Dominican,  published  in  Rome  two  very 
large  volumes,  directed  almost  entirely  to  prove  the  great  benefit 
which  religion  must  receive  from  a  free  and  complete  examination  of 
the  critic;d  state  of  our  present  Hebrew  text,  such  as  was  promised 
by  Kennicott.  "  What  must  chiefly  interest  us,"  he  says,  "  is,  that 
it  will  infallibly  give  religion  powerful  arms  to  confound  a  funda- 
mental error  of  the  impious  and  the  libertine,  on  the  actual  state  of 
our  Hebrew  text.  From  the  inspection  of  Heb.  MSS.  compared 
with  our  common  text,  and  with  the  most  ancient  versions,  an  inter- 
esting fact  must  result,  the  assurance  of  our  divine  Scripture  being 
essentially  incorrupt.  We  cannot  give  a  better  confutation  of  their 
hypothesis,  who  call  themselves  philosophers  in  our  days,  and  who 
refuse  credit  to  the  sacred  books,  on  the  pretence  that  the  originals 
of  Scripture  are  essentially  corrupt,  and  are  now  in  extreme  confu- 
sion and  disorder."t 

It  was  only,  indeed,  by  the  existence  of  such  kind  encouragement, 
that  the  next  and  last  laborer  in  this  field  could  have  accomplished 
his  extraordinary  undertaking.  This  was  John  Bernard  de  Rossi,  a 
poor  and  modest  professor  of  Parma.  •  In  an  interesting  account  of 
his  labors,  which  he  published  shortly  before  his  death,  he  considers 
himself  only  an  humble  instrument  in  the  hands  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence, for  the  work  which  occupied  his  life,  the  collection  of  manu- 
scripts and  rare  editions  of  the  Hebrew  text.  Without  fortune, 
influence,  or  connexions,  he  dedicated  himself  to  this  task;  he  de- 
voted to  it  all  his  little  means  ;  he  employed  every  art  to  overcome 
the  repugnance  which  the  Jews  had  to  part  with  their  written  re- 
cords ;  and  by  this  steady,  undeviating  attention  to  one  great  and  re- 
ligious object,  succeeded  in  his  design  beyond  his  most  sanguine  ex- 
pectation. Kennicott,  through  the  whole  of  Europe,  had  only  been 
able  to  collate  531  Hebrew  manuscripts;  nor  does  any  public  library 

*  Kennic.  Vet.  Test.  Pref.  p.  viii. 

i  "  Des  litres  primitifs  de  la  R^v^lntion."     Tom.  prem.  p.  3.     See 
torn.  2,  pp.  332,373,521,  etc. 


SACRED    LITKR&TURE.  317 

in  England,  or  on  the  continent,  possess  more  than  fifty  such  docu- 
ments. In  1784,  De  Rossi  published  the  first  volume  of  his  various 
readings,  as  supplementary  to  Kennicott's  collection,  and  in  it  he 
gives  the  catalogue  of  479  manuscripts  in  his  own  possession.  Before 
the  completion  of  the  fourth  volume  in  1788,  his  collection  had 
increased  to  612  :  and  in  1808  he  published  a  supplementary  volume, 
in  which  68  new  manuscripts  are  described,  making  in  all  680 
Hebrew  manuscripts.  As  he  went  on  amassing  till  his  death,  a  few 
years  ago,  this  invaluable  collection  is  now  much  greater.  Every 
temptation  was  held  out  to  this  worthy  ecclesiastic  to  part  with  his 
literary  treasure.  The  Emperor  of  Russia  offered  him  an  enormous 
price,  but  he  replied  that  it  should  never  go  out  of  Italy.  Pius  VI, 
had  before  proposed  to  purchase  it,  and  the  thought  of  having  his 
library  united  to  that  of  the  Vatican,  perhaps  tried  him  more  keenly 
than  gold ;  but  he  preferred  accepting  a  trifling  compensation  for 
himself  and  his  niece,  from  his  own  sovereign,  and  bequeathed  it  to 
the  library  of  his  native  city.  With  the  valuable  labors  of  this  hum- 
ble, but  enterprising  individual,  the  history  of  this  department  of  sa- 
cred criticism  may  be  said  to  close  ;  its  results  we  shall  see  united  to 
those  of  the  other  more  interesting  branch,  the  critical  examination  of 
the  New  Testament. 

Very  early  after  the  first  publication  of  this  sacred  collection,  it 
became  the  custom  to  examine  the  manuscripts  of  it,  which  abounded 
in  every  library,  though  with  no  great  accuracy,  and  on  no  uniform 
plan.  It  was  not  till  the  great  edition  of  Mill,  in  1707,  which  con- 
densed all  the  labors  of  his  predecessors,  corrected  their  errors,  and 
greatly  increased  their  stores,  that  sacred  criticism  could  be  said  to 
have  assumed  a  systematic  form.  After  him  the  task  of  collecting 
rapidly  advanced,  and  successive  critical  editions  occupied  the  at- 
tention of  the  learned,  through  the  whole  of  the  18th  century.  That 
of  Wetstein,  in  1751  and  1752,  far  eclipsed  all  that  had  gone  before; 
but  he,  as  well  as  they,  has  yielded  the  pre-eminence  which  he  long 
enjoyed,  to  the  great  reformer  of  the  science,  John  James  Griesbach. 
To  him  we  owe  the  leading  principles  which  have  swayed  it  ever 
since,  almost  with  an  iron  rule. 

It  was  chiefly  with  reference  to  this  branch  of  critical  science 
that  the  interest  of  the  learned,  and  of  theologians  in  particular,  was 
much  excited.  For,  it  was  chiefly  here  that  the  opposers  of  religion, 
or  of  its  most  essential  dogmas,  had  hoped  for  something  useful  to 
their  cause.     It  had  been  anticipated,  indeed,  that  some  various  read- 


318  LKCTURE    THE    TENTH, 

ing  would  probably  be  discovered  more  favorable  to  Socinian  opin- 
ions; and,  at  any  rate,  many  believed  that  such  an  uncertainty  would 
arise  concerninjr  the  entire  text,  such  difficulty  of  choice  between 
conflicting  readings,  as  would  unsettle  all  belief,  and  utterly  destroy 
the  authority  of  Scripture  as  a  guide  to  truth.  Such  was  the  view 
taken  of  the  critical  labors  of  Mill  and  others,  by  the  celebrated 
Anthony  Collins,  in  his  "  Discourse  on  Fieethinking."  He  took  ad- 
vantage of  the  dift'erences  between  Mill  and  Whitby,  about  some 
passages,  and  about  the  value  of  various  readings  in  general,  to  con- 
clude that  the  entire  New  Testament  was  thereby  rendered  doubtful. 
He  was  soon,  however,  chastised  by  the  heavy  lash  of  Bentley,  who, 
in  his  disguise  of  Phileleutherus  Lipsiensis,  thoroughly  exposed  the 
folly  of  Collins's  assertions,  and  vindicated  the  condition  of  the  in- 
spired text. 

And,  in  fact,  we  may  well  inquire,  what  has  been  the  result  of 
this  laborious  and  acute  research, — of  this  toilsome  collation  of 
manuscripts  of  every  age,  of  the  many  theories  for  classifying  critical 
documents,  in  fine,  of  all  the  years  which  able  and  learned  men  have 
dedicated  to  the  zealous  task  of  amending  and  perfecting  the  sacred 
book  ?  Why  truly,  if  we  exclude  the  great  and  important  conclu- 
sions which  we  have  at  present  in  view,  the  result  is  so  trifling,  that 
we  should  say,  there  had  been  much  unthrifty  squandering  of  time 
and  talents  thereupon.  Not  indeed,  that  there  has  been  lack  of 
abundant  differences  of  readings  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  number  is 
overpowering.  Mill's  first  effort  produced  30,000,  and  the  number 
may  be  said  daily  to  increase.  But  in  all  this  mass,  although  every 
attainable  source  has  been  exhausted  ;  although  the  fathers  of  every 
age  have  been  gleaned  for  their  readings,  although  the  versions  of 
every  nation,  Arabic,  Syriac,  Coptic,  Armenian,  and  Ethiopian, 
have  been  ransacked  for  their  renderings ;  although  manuscripts 
of  every  age  from  the  sixteenth  upwards  to  the  third,  and  of  every 
country,  have  been  again  and  again  visited  by  industrious  swarms  to 
rifle  them  of  their  treasures;  altliough,  having  exhausted  the  stores 
of  the  West,  critics  have  travelled  like  naturalists  into  distant  lands,  to 
discover  new  specimens, — have  visited,  like  Scholz,  or  Sebastiani, 
the  recesses  of  Mount  Athos,or  the  unexplored  libraries  of  the  Egyp- 
tian and  Syrian  deserts — yet  has  nothing  been  discovered,  no  not 
one  single  various  reading  which  can  throw  doubt  upon  any  passage 
before  considered  certain  or  decisive  in  favor  of  any  important  doc- 
trine.    For,  in  the  instances  which  I  before  quoted,  as  1    Tim.  3: 


SACRED    LITERATURE.  319 

16,  the  doubt  existed  already,  from  the  variety  found  in  the  ancient 
versions.  These  various  readings,  almost  without  an  exception, 
leave  untouched  the  essential  parts  of  any  sentence,  and  only  inter- 
fere with  points  of  secondary  importance,  the  insertion  or  omission  of 
an  article,  or  conjunction,  the  more  accurate  grammatical  construc- 
tion, or  the  forms  rather  than  the  substance  of  words.  For  instance, 
the  first  verse  of  St.  John's  Gospel  had  been  the  subject  of  various 
critical  conjectures,  with  a  view  of  destroying  its  force  in  proving  the 
divinity  of  Christ.  One  author  had  maintained  that  the  reading 
should  be  in  the  genitive,  "  and  the  Word  was  of  God  ;"  another 
that  the  sentence  should  be  differently  pointed,  and  that  we  should 
read,  "  and  God  was,"  leaving  "  the  Word"  to  be  joined  to  the  next 
period.  Now,  after  examining  all  the  evidence  within  the  reach  of 
unexampled  industry,  exercised  by  men  no  ways  unfavorable  to  the 
cause  supported  by  those  conjectures,  what  discoveries  have  been 
made  in  this  passage  ?  Several  various  readings  to  be  sure  ;  such  as 
Clement  of  Alexandria's  having  once,  "  the  Word  was  in  God,"  in- 
stead o^  with  God  ;  one  MS.  and  St.  Gregory,  of  Nyssa,  reading  the 
word  God  with  an  article,  "  was  the  God."  These  are  the  only 
variations  found  in  the  text,  while  the  great  doctrine  which  it  con- 
tains, remains  perfectly  untouched,  and  the  presumptuous  conjectures 
of  Photinus,  Crellius,  and  Bardht,  are  proved  to  be  frivolous  and  un- 
grounded. 

In  fact,  if  we  look  through  the  new  text  published  by  Griesbach, 
the  first  critic  who  ventured  to  insert  a  new  reading  into  the  received 
text,  and  see,  as  we  may  in  a  moment  from  the  difference  of  type, 
how  few  are  the  instances  where  ilic  great  quantity  of  documents 
which  he  consulted,  suggested  to  him  any  improvement,  we  cannot 
but  be  surprised  at  the  accuracy  of  our  ordinary  text,  formed  as  it 
was,  without  selection,  from  the  first  manuscripts  that  came  to  hand, 
after  the  invention  of  printing ;  or  rather  we  must  feel  great  satis- 
faction at  the  small  difference  between  the  best  and  the  most  interior 
manuscript.^,  and  consequently  at  the  consoling  manner  in  which  the 
integrity  of  the  inspired  records  has  been  preserved. 

So  completely  did  this  result  disappoint  the  expectations  of  those 
who  opposed  religion,  that  we  are  told  by  a  celebrated  scholar  of  the 
last  century,  that  they  began  to  think  less  favorably  of  that  species  of 
criticism  which  they  at  first  so   highly  recommended,  in  the  hope  of 


320  LECTURE    THE    TENTH. 

its  leading  to  discoveries  more  suitable  to  their  maxims  than  the  an- 
cient system.* 

This  result  is  precisely  the  same  as  has  been  obtained  from  the 
critical  study  of  the  Old  Testament.  It  has  been  acknowledged  by 
the  learned  Eichhorn,  that  Kennicott's  various  readings  hardly  pre- 
sent any  of  consequence,  or  sufficiently  interesting  to  repay  the  labor 
bestowed  on  their  collection. +  Even  within  these  few  years  we  have 
had  a  new  and  striking  confirmation  of  this  result.  Dr.  Buchanan, 
in  1801,  procured  and  brought  to  Europe  a  Hebrew  manuscript  used 
by  the  black  Jews,  settled  from  time  immemorial  in  India,  where 
they  had  for  ages  been  cut  off  from  all  communication  with  their 
brethren  in  other  parts  of  the  world.  It  is  a  fragment  of  an  immense 
roll,  which,  when  complete,  nmst  have  been  about  ninety  feet  long. 
Even  as  it  now  is,  it  is  made  up  of  pieces  written  by  different  persons, 
at  different  epochs,  and  contains  a  considerable  portion  of  the  Penta- 
teuch. It  is  written  on  skins  dyed  red.  An  interesting  collation  of 
this  MS.  has  been  made  and  published  by  Mr.  Yeates ;  and  the  re- 
sult is,  that,  comparing  it  with  the  edition  of  Van  der  Hooght,  con- 
sidered always  as  the  standard  edition  in  such  collations,  it  presents 
not  more  iha^n  forty  various  readings,  not  one  of  which  is  in  the  least 
important,  for  the  most  part  affecting  letters,  such  as  jod  or  vau, 
which  may  be  inserted  or  omitted  with  perfect  indifference.  Indeed, 
comparing  it  with  other  printed,  and  very  correct  editions,  this  num- 
ber is  considerably  reduced.  The  collator  well  observes,  that  here 
we  have  "specimens  of  at  least  three  ancient  copies  of  the  Pentateuch, 
whose  testimony  is  found  to  unite  in  the  integrity  and  pure  conserva- 
tion of  the  sacred  text  acknowledged  by  Christians  and  Jews  in  these 
parts  of  the  world. "t 

But,  once  more  returning  to  the  New  Testament,  and  the  critical 
attention  paid  to  its  text,  the  advantages  which  this  has  procured  us, 
are  far  from  .stopping  at  the  assurance,  that  nothing  has  been  yet  dis- 
covered which  could  shake  our  belief  in  the  purity  of  our  sacred 
books.  This  advantage  was  but  the  first  step  gained  by  it  in  the 
earliest  labors  of  Mill  and  Wetstein.  The  critic,  with  whose  name 
I  closed  my  list,  went  much  further, — he  gave  us,  in  addition,  a  secu- 
rity for  the  future.     His  great  theory  of  the  classification  of  manu- 


*  Michaelir,  Tom.  ii.  p.  266. 

t  Einleitung,"  ii.  Th.  S.  700,  ed.  Leipzig,  1824. 

I  "  Collation  ©fan  Indian  copy  of  the  Pentateuch,"  p.  8, 


SACRED    LITERATURE. 


321 


scripts,  was  however   first  suggested   by  an   amiable  and  profound 
scholar,  John  Albert   Bengel.     This  learned  man  is  a  noble  model 
of  the  principles  in  action  which  I  have  been  striving  to  inculcate 
through  this  course  of  lectures.     He  was  perplexed  by  the  quantity  of 
various  readings  discovered  in  the  New  Testament,  and  feared  that, 
by  them,  all  security  in  its  correctness  was  essentially  destroyed.  He 
had  no  one  to  consult;  he  feared  to  open  the  state  of  his  mind ;  and 
with  an  uprightness  and  a  courage  which  do  him  honor,  he  resolved 
to  face  every  difficulty,  to  dedicate  himself  to  critical  inquiries,  and 
to  find,  in  the  science  itself  that  suggested  them,  the  solution  of  his 
scruples.     The  result  was  what  might  have  been  anticipated  ;— his 
own  individual  conviction  of  the  purity  of  the  text,  and  the  simplifica- 
tion of  the  inquiry  to  all   who  might  find  themselves  in  a  similar  po- 
sition.    He  soon  observed,  that  it  was  lost  labor  to  count  manuscripts 
upon  any  passage  ;  for  a  great  number  of  them  always  herded  togeth- 
er, so  that  when  you  knew   how  one  read,  you  might  consider  it  a 
type  or  representative  of  many  more,  which  belonged,  as  it  were,  to 
the  same  family.     Thus  he  suggested,  that  if  you  found  upon  any 
text  one  celebrated  old  manuscript,  agreeing  with  any  very  ancient 
version,  you  might  safely  consider  their  joint  reading  as  certain. 

This,  however,  was  but  a  rude  germ  of  the  system  discovered  and 
introduced  by  Griesbach.     He  found,  by  a  lonT  and  diligent  research, 
that  all  known  manuscripts  are  divided  into  three  classes,  to  which 
he  has  given  the  name  of  Recensions,  because  he  supposes  them  to 
have  been  produced  by   corrected  editions  of  the  text  in  different 
countries  ;  and  he  consequently  gives  them  the  titles  of  the  Alexan- 
drian, the  Western,  and  the  Byzantine  Recensions.     Every  known 
manuscript  belongs  to  one  of  these  classes  ;  and  though  it  may  occa- 
sionally depart  from  its  type,  it  accords  with  it  on  the  whole.     The 
consequence  of  this  arrangement  is  obvious.     We  no  longer  speak  of 
twenty  manuscripts  being  in  favor  of  one  reading,  and  as  many  on 
the  other  side,  nor  think  of  examining  their  individual  value  ;  nor 
have  we  to  weigh  numbers  against  intrinsic  worth,  and  decide  be- 
tween them.     Individual   manuscripts   have  now  no  value;  but  we 
only  decide  between  families.     If  two  families  agree,  their  joint  read- 
ing is  probably  correct;  if  they  are  so  blended  together,  that  MSS. 
of  all  families  are  confusedly  mixed  on  both  sides,  the  question  can- 
not be  decided.     But  here  we  have  a  security  against  the  discovery 
of  any  future  documents.     For,  if  any  manuscript,  however  venerable 
and  precious,  were  to  be  discovered,  it  must  enter  into  the  ranks,  and 
41 


322  LECTURE  THE  TENTH. 

submit  to  be  classified  with  one  of  the  families,  whose  weight  it  might 
increase,  while  it  lost  all  individual  authority  ;  and  thus  it  could  no- 
ways disturb  our  security.  And  if  it  presented  such  anomalies  as 
would  exclude  it  from  them  all,  and  prevent  its  classification,  it  must 
be  considered  a  vagrant  and  outlaw,  and  could  no  more  derange  the 
system  than  a  comet  cutting  through  the  orbits  of  the  planets  could 
be  said  to  disturb  their  order,  by  refusing  to  come  into  their  arrange- 
ment. 

This  great  and  important  step  in  the  critical  study  of  the  New 
Testament,  has  received  important  modifications,  all  tending  to  sim- 
plify it  further.  Nolan,  Hug,  Scholz,  and  many  others,  have  pro- 
posed various  arrangements,  and  distributions  of  manuscripts  ;  but 
they  have  gone  little  further  than  varying  the  names  and  numbers  of 
the  classes  ;  the  principles  they  have  preserved  entire.  Scholz  in- 
deed may  be  said  to  have  proposed  the  most  important  change.  Af- 
ter travelling  all  over  Europe,  and  a  great  part  of  the  East,  to  collate 
MSS  ,  he  published  in  1830  the  first  volume  of  a  new  critical  edi- 
tion ;  in  the  preface  to  which  he  reduces  the  families  to  two,  thus 
rendering  the  application  of  Griesbach's  principle  still  more  attaina- 
ble. By  a  letter  which  I  lately  received  from  him,  I  learn  that  the 
second  volume  is  now  in  the  press. 

Thus,  may  we  say,  that  critical  science  has  not  only  overthrown 
every  objection  drawn  from  documents  already  in  our  possession,  but 
has  given  us  full  security  against  any  that  may  be  yet  discovered  ; 
and  has,  at  the  same  time,  placed  in  our  hands  simple  and  easy 
canons,  or  rules  for  deciding  complicated  points  of  difference.  And 
these  results  will  be  still  more  within  our  reach,  when  a  new  edition 
now  preparing  shall  have  appeared,  in  which  only  select  readings, 
examined  with  great  care,  and  given  with  great  accuracy,  shall  have 
been  completed.  • 

Besides  these  general  advantages,  we  may  moreover  say,  that 
many  particular  passages,  over  which  a  cloud  of  doubt  before  hung, 
have  been  cleared  of  their  difficulty,  and  fully  secured.  For  instance, 
the  eleven  last  verses  of  St.  Mark,  containing  very  important  and 
Interesting  matter,  had  been  doubted  of  by  many  critics  ;  and  the 
same  may  be  said  of  Luke  22:  43 — 45,  wherein  the  account  is  given 
of  our  Saviour's  bloody  sweat  in  the  garden.  Now,  the  progress  of 
critical  research  has  so  completely  placed  these  two  passages  on  a 
level  with  every  other  part  of  the  New  Testament,  that  it  is  quite 
impossible  they  can  ever  again  be  called  in  question. 


SACRED    LITERATrRE.  323 

There  is  an  anecdote  connected  with  this  science,  to  which  I 
before  alluded,  and  which  it  would  he  unjust  not  to  inquire  into  be- 
fore concluding  it.  The  Vatican  library  possesses,  as  all  of  you  must 
be  aware,  the  most  valuable  manuscript  of  the  Septuagint  version, 
and  the  New  Testament,  now  in  existence.  It  is  known  by  the 
name  of  the  Codex  Vaticanus,  and  was  published  in  1587,  by  order 
of  Pope  Sixtus  V.  Michaelis,  and  his  arniotator  Dr.  Marsh,  have 
informed  us,  upon  the  authority  of  Adier,  that  in  1783,  the  Abbate 
Spaletti,  or,  as  they  call  him,  Spoletti,  applied  to  Pope  Pius  VI.  for 
permission  to  publish  a  fac-simile  of  the  entire  MS.  upon  the  same 
plan  as  the  Anacreon  which  he  had  printed  :  that  the  Pope  was 
favorable  to  the  scheme,  but  "  referred  the  matter,  according  to  the 
usual  routine,  to  the  Inquit-ition,  with  the  order  that  F.  Mamachi,  the 
magister  sacri  palatii  should  be  consulted  in  particular;  whose  igno- 
rance, and  its  usual  attendant,  a  spirit  of  intolerance,  induced  him 
to  persuade  the  Pope  to  prevent  the  execution  of  the  plan,  under  the 
pretence  that  the  Codex  Vaticanus  differed  from  the  Vulgate,  and 
might,  therefore,  if  made  known  to  the  public,  be  prejudicial  to  the 
interests  of  the  Christian  religion."  A  second  memorial  was  pre- 
sented to  the  Pope,  "  but  the  powers  of  the  Inquisition  prevailed 
against  arguments,  which  had  no  other  support  than  sound  reason." 
De  Rossi,  in  a  letter  to  Michaelis,  answered  this  accusation  against 
the  character  of  his  patron,  the  Pope  ;  but  Dr.  Marsh  replies,  that 
*'  this  at  least  is  certain,  that  no  public  permission  was  ever  given  to 
Spoletti,  though  he  repeatedly  asked  it;  he  was  therefore  obliged  to 
abandon  the  design,  since  the  private  indulgence  of  the  Pope  would 
have  been  no  security  against  the  vengeance  of  the  Inquisition."* 
It  is  really  a  pity  to  see  such  a  tissue  of  misrepresentations,  as  are 
here  strung  together,  repeated  by  writers  of  authority,  from  whom 
they  are,  of  course,  copied  into  popular  works,  and  become  univer- 
sally current.     Mr.  Home,  naturally,  has  not  overlooked  it.t 

When  I  first  read  this  story,  some  years  ago,  I  lost  no  time  in  ex- 
amining its  accuracy.  The  leading  fact  is,  indeed,  true,  that  the 
Abbate  Spaletti  applied  for  permission  to  publish  a  fac-simile  of  that 
immense  manuscript ;  and,  doubtless,  had  he  applied  for  permission 
only,  it  would  have  been  soon  obtained.  But,  unluckily,  his  demand 
was,  that  he  should  publish  it  at  the  expense  of  the  government;  and 

*  Michaelis,  vol.  ii.  part  i.  p.  181,  part  ii.  p.  G44. 
t  Vol.  ii.  p.  125. 


324  I.r.CTUKF,    THE    TENTH. 

this  was  tlie  sole  ground  of  refusal.  This  I  was  told  by  one  who  had 
known  Spaletti  intimately,  and  was  acquainted  with  the  whole  trans- 
action, and  had  no  idea  that  any  different  account,  or,  indeed,  any 
account  of  it  at  all,  had  been  ever  published.*  It  would  have  been  a 
pity,  he  added,  if  Spaletti  had  been  allowed;  for  he  was  but  a  super- 
ficial scholar,  and  merely  desired  to  undertake  this  immense  task,  as 
a  good  speculation.  When  we  consider  that  it  required  the  inter- 
ference of  Parliament,  and  its  engagement  to  pay  all  expenses,  before 
•Mr.  Baber's  fac-simile  of  the  Alexandrian  manuscript  of  the  Old 
Testament  alone  could  be  undertaken  ;  and  that,  even  then,  on  ac- 
count of  the  enormous  expense,  only  250  copies  have  been  printed, 
we  surely  have  reason  enough  for  the  government  here  declining  the 
extravagant  outlay  necessary  for  carrying  Spaletti's  projects  into  exe- 
cution. Besides  this  leading  incorrectness,  there  are  others  of  minor 
importance  in  the  anecdote.  The  Inquisition  could  not  have  been 
ever  referred  to,  according  to  the  "ordinary  routine,"  as  Dr.  Marsh 
expresses  it ;  for,  to  any  one  acquainted  with  the  course  of  business 
here,  such  an  assertion  sounds  as  probable,  as  if  some  foreigner  were 
to  state,  that  Mr.  Baber's  proposal  to  publish  the  Alexandrian  MS. 
was  referred,  according  to  "  the  usual  routine,"  to  the  Horse-Guards, 
or  the  Board  of  Control.  Nor,  in  fact,  was  it  ever  referred  to  the  In- 
quisition at  all.  So  far  from  any  misunderstanding  having  ever  ex- 
isted between  Spaletti  and  the  members  of  that  office,  he  continued 
to  the  end  of  his  life  to  spend  all  his  Sunday  mornings  in  their  society, 
within  the  walls  of  that  dreaded  tribunal.  Nor  can  I  pass  over  the 
learned  Bishop  of  Peterborough,  speaking  of  the  ignorant  Mamachi  ; 
a  man  who  holds  a  place  among  the  illustrators  of  ecclesiastical  anti- 
quity second  to  none,  and  whose  works  will  fortunately  last  as  long, 
at  least,  as  this  aspersion  on  his  memory.  However,  Dr.  Marsh  him- 
self affords  the  best  confutation  of  the  motive  attributed  to  this  ig7io- 
rant  clergyman,  who  surely  knew  that  the  Vatican  MS.  had  been 
published  nearly  two  centuries  before,  when  he  tells  us  that  Dr. 
Holmes  found  no  obstacles  in  the  way  of  collating  the  manuscripts  of 
the  Vatican  for  his  edition  of  the  Septuagint.t     And,  in  fact,  Spaletti 


*  The  late  Canonico  Baldi,  sotto-custode  of  the  Vatican  Library. 

\  Tlie  collation  of  this  manuscript  was  interrupted  by  the  French 
revolution.  AVIiy  it  was  not  resumed  after  the  restoration  of  the  Codex, 
the  officers  of  tlie  liitrary  were  at  a  loss  to  di.scover.  Surely  a  critical 
edition  of  the  Septua>;irir,  in  which  a  collation  of  the  beet  and  oldest 
MS.  is  wanting,  labors  under  an  essential  defect. 


SACRED    LITERATURE.  325 

was  employed  among  others  in  making  it,  and  the  very  MS.  in  ques- 
tion was  one  of  those  examined. 

When  Monsignor  Mai,  lately  librarian  of  the  Vatican,  suggested 
to  Leo  XII.  the  propriety  of  publishing  the  New  Testament  of  the 
Codex  Vaticanus,  his  Holiness  replied,  that  he  would  wish  the  whole, 
including  the  Old,  to  be  accurately  printed.  Upon  this,  the  learned 
prelate  undertook  the  task,  and  advanced  as  far  as  St.  Mark's  gospel. 
Not  satistied  with  the  execution  of  the  work,  he  has  since  recom- 
menced it  en  a  different  plan.  The  New  Testament  is  finished,  and 
the  Old  considerably  advanced.  This  publication  will  be  the  most 
satisfactory  proof  of  how  little  apprehension  is  felt  in  Rome  of  any 
"  injury  to  the  Christian  religion,"  from  the  critical  study  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures. 

But,  to  conclude  this  last  portion  of  my  task,  we  have  thus  seen 
this  science  run  precisely  the  same  course  as  so  many  others  ;  afford, 
in  its  imperfect  state,  some  ground  of  objection  to  freethinkers 
against  the  bases  of  Christian  revelation,  and  then,  by  pursuing  its 
own  natural  direction  without  fear,  not  only  overthrow  all  the  diffi- 
culties which  it  had  first  raised,  but  replace  them  by  such  new  and 
satisfactory  assurances,  as  no  farther  inquiry  can  possibly  weaken  or 
destroy. 

After  the  text  has  been  settled  by  critical  research,  the  next 
task  is  to  interpret.  This  is,  primarily,  the  province  of  philology, 
which  examines  the  signification  of  the  words,  whether  singly,  or  com- 
bined in  phrases,  and,  by  deciding  on  their  value,  arrives  at  the  sense 
of  entire  sentences  and  paragraphs.  Now,  the  different  parts  of  this 
study,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  have  been  progressive,  and  their  pro- 
gress has  uniformly  tended  to  the  vindication  of  Scripture,  and  the 
confirmation  of  the  evidences.  Grammar  is  necessarily  the  basis  of 
all  study  which  has  words  for  its  object ;  and  I  commence  with  it. 

You  will  perhaps  be  inclined  to  smile,  when  I  speak  of  the  gram- 
mar of  a  language  dead  two  thousand  years,  as  in  a  state  of  progress 
and  improvement.  You  will  doubtless  be  no  less  tempted  to  incre- 
dulity, when  I  assert  that  its  progress  has  even  slightly  added  to  our 
security  in  essential  doctrines.  And  yet  both  assertions  are  really 
true.  For  the  sake  of  such  as  may  feel  an  interest  in  such  research- 
es, I  will  sketch  you  an  outline  of  its  history,  and  then  exemplify  the 
useful  and  important  applications  to  which  it  may  be  directed. 

The  grammar  of  the  Hebrew  language  naturally  originated  with 
the  Jews  ;  nor  did  any  Christian,  in  modern  times  commence  its 


326  LECTURE    THE    TENTH. 

Study,  until  it  had  received  from  them  all  that  perfection  which  their 
defective  methods  could  bestow  on  it.  Still  the  study  amongst  us 
may  be  said  to  have  been  conducted  upon  independent  grounds.  Elias 
Levita  was  employed,  in  giving  to  the  grammatical  researches  of  the 
Kimchis,  all  the  improvements  which  they  were  ever  to  receive  from 
wrhers  of  his  nation,  when  Conrad  Pellicanus,  in  1503,  and  Reuch- 
lin,  three  years  later,  published  the  first  rudiments  of  Hebrew  intend- 
ed for  Christian  education.  The  former,  a  monk  at  Tiibingen,  had 
made  himself  acquainted  with  the  language  at  the  age  of  twenty-two, 
with  no  other  help  than  a  Latin  Bible  ;  and  embodied,  consequently, 
in  his  grammar,  only  such  imperfect  elements  as  he  had  thus  gleaned. 
Reuchlin  took  lessons  at  Rome,  from  a  Jew,  at  the  extravagant  price 
of  a  golden  crown  an  hour ;  and  to  him  we  are  indebted  for  most  of 
the  grammatical  terms  now  used  in  the  study  of  the  sacred  language. 
Sebastian  MUnster,  a  scholar  of  Elias,  soon  eclipsed  his  predeces- 
sors :  and  his  labors,  which  were  copied  almost  entirely  from  the 
Rabbins,  yielded,  in  their  turn,  to  the  more  comprehensive  and  more 
lucid  method  of  the  elder  Buxtorf  Nor  were  grammatical  research- 
es wanting  in  other  parts  of  Europe  besides  Germany.  Santes  Pag- 
nini  in  Italy,  and  Chevalier  in  France,  published  introductions  to  the 
study  of  the  sacred  language.  This  may  be  styled  the  first  period  of 
Hebrew  grammar  among  Christians,  a  period  ending  with  the  mid- 
dle of  the  seventeenth  century.*  Its  characteristics  are  those  of  the 
Jewish  school,  from  which  it  sprung,  a  minute  attention  to  the  com- 
plicated changes  of  letters  and  vowel-points,  and  to  the  derivation 
and  formation  of  nouns  ;  while  the  general  structure  of  the  language 
is,  in  a  great  measure,  overlooked.  Besides  Buxtorf,  one  other  hon- 
orable exception  must,  however,  be  made.  Solomon  Glass,  whose 
Philologia  Sacra,  especially  in  the  improved  edition  of  Dathe,  should 
never  be  absent  from  the  table  of  a  biblical  student,  collected  a  treas- 
ure of  syntactical  remarks,  which,  besides  their  utility  for  Hebrew 
grammar,  had  the  merit  of  first  bringing  the  language  of  the  New 
Testament  into  relation  with  the  Old. 

While  the  study  of  Hebrew  grammar  was  thus  slowly  advancing, 
the  cognate  Semitic  dialects,  then  known  by  the  general  name  of 
the  Oriental  languages,  were  cultivated  with  considerable  attention. 
At  the  period  which,  after  Gesenius,  I  have  assigned  to  the  termina- 

*  Gesenius,  "Geschichte  der  hebraischen  Sprache  und  Schrift." 
Leipzig,  1825,  pp.  107—101. 


SACRED    LITERATURE.  327 

tion  of  the  first  Christian  school,  the  study  of  them  began  to  exercise 
an  influence  on  Hebrew  grammar,  and  thus  marked  the  commence- 
ment of  a  second  epoch.  Louis  De  Dieu,  in  1028,  first  published  a 
comparative  grammar  of  Hebrew,  Chaldaic,  and  Syriac.  He  was 
followed  by  Hettinger,  (1649)  and  Sennert,  (1G5;})  who  added  the 
Arabic  to  the  languages  previously  compared.  The  celebrated  poly- 
glott  lexicon  of  Castell,  in  its  prolegomena,  further  contributed  the 
Ethiopic  or  Abyssinian. 

This  was  a  new  and  important  instrument  for  the  study  of  He- 
brew grammar  ;  but  the  syntax  of  these  kindred  languages  was  itself 
imperfectly  developed,  and  the  application  of  them  was  therefore 
principally  confined  to  the  declensions  and  conjugations.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  last  century,  a  more  extensive  application  of  one 
branch,  at  least  of  this  comparative  philology,  was  introduced  by  the 
learned  and  sagacious  Albert  Schultens.  Deeply  versed  in  Arabic 
literature,  and  having  at  command  a  treasure  of  oriental  manuscripts 
in  the  Leyden  library,  he  devoted  most  of  his  life  to  the  illustration  of 
Hebrew  philology  from  these  new  sources.  Great  as  his  merits  are, 
his  devotion  to  the  system  which  he  was  the  first  to  introduce,  neces- 
sarily led  him  too  far.  He  sacrificed  the  advantages,  which  a  com- 
parison of  all  the  kindred  dialects  affords,  to  his  predilection  for  one. 
He  went  further  still  ;  for  he  often  neglects  the  peculiar  structure 
and  idiomatic  uses  of  the  Hebrew  language  for  a  parallelism,  howev- 
er faint,  with  Arabic* 

He  was  the  founder  of  what  is  called  the  Dutch  school  in 
Hebrew  philology.  As  might  be  expected,  may  of  his  scholars  cop- 
ied the  faults  of  their  master,  though  a  few,  more  judicious,  were 
careful  to  avoid  them.  While  rash  Arabisms,  as  they  were  called, 
and  forced  etymologies,  disfigure  the  v.orks  of  the  Venema,  Lette, 
and  Scheid,  others,  like  Schroder,  have  brought  a  more  chastened 
judgment  to  the  study  of  grammar.  The  "  Institutiones"  of  this  ju- 
dicious author,!  was  for  many  years  the  standard  work  in  Germany, 
and  is,  I  believe,  as  yet  considerably  used,  and  deservedly  esteemed, 
in  England.  His  .syntax  is  copious  and  accurate,  and  may  be  reck- 
oned the  best  substitute  by  those  who  have  not  access  to  the  larger 
German  works  of  Gesenius  and  Ewald. 


*  lb.  p.  128. 

t  "  Institutiones  ad  fundainenta  iiuguse  Hebralcae."      The  last  Ger- 
man ed.  Ulm,  1799.     It  was  reprinted  at  Glasgow  in  1824. 


328  LECTURE    THE    TENTH. 

While  the  Dutch  school  was  in  its  perfection,  the  Germans  were 
laying  the  foundation  of  that  system  which,  though  not  matured  so 
early,  was  the  only  true  and  solid  method  of  proceeding.  This  con- 
sisted in  not  attempting  to  reach  at  once  a  full  and  comprehensive 
system  of  grammar,  but  in  illustrating  particular  points,  either  from 
the  cognate  dialects,  or  by  a  collation  of  numerous  passages  in  the 
Bible  itself.  Christian  Benedict  Michaelis  laudably  attended  to 
both  methods  ;  Simonis,  Storr,  and  numerous  others,  contributed 
valuable  observations  towards  methodizing  the  Hebrew  syntax,  and 
its  analogies.  Materials  were  thus  accumulated  at  the  commence- 
ment of  this  century,  which  only  required  a  learned,  judicious,  and 
patient  investigator,  to  arrange,  discuss,  and  complete  them. 

From  the  first  school,  the  modern  one  differs,  much  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  tactics  of  the  present  day  do  from  those  of  ancient 
times.  As  these  trained  the  phalanx,  or  legion,  through  a  maze  of 
manoeuvres,  which  depended  chiefly  upon  the  exact  movements  and 
positions  of  individuals,  so  the  whole  system  of  ancient  grammar  de- 
pended on  the  minute  changes  which  occured  in  every  single  word, 
upon  the  complicated  evolutions  of  each  point,  its  advance,  its  re- 
treat, or  its  charge.  The  modern  grammarian,  on  the  other  hand, 
neo-lects  not,  indeed,  those  minor  movements,  but  bestows  his  great- 
est attention  on  the  co-ordination  of  the  parts  of  speech,  on  the  force 
of  the  particles  in  every  varied  circumstance,  on  the  different  powers 
of  peculiar  forms  of  words,  and  on  the  mutual  dependence  of  the 
lesser  and  greater  members  of  the  sentence  : — he  looks  mainly  to 
more  extensive  combinations,  and  more  important  effects.  The  first 
school,  however,  used  one  advantage,  which  its  successor  neglected 
or  despised,  the  Rabbinical  grammarians.  All,  indeed,  at  the  be- 
ginning, was  Jewish,  whether  in  grammar  or  in  lexicography;  while, 
durincr  the  following  period,  the  Rabbins  were  discarded  in  both. 
Forster  (1557)  published  his  lexicon,  "  non  ex  Rabbinorum  com- 
mentis  nee  nostratum  Doctorum  stulta  imitatione;"  and  Masclef  de- 
termined to  purge  Hebrew  grammar  of  the  points,  "  aliisque  inventis 
Masorethicis."  I  know  not  whether  his  followers  consider  the  exist- 
ence of  syntax  and  construction  in  Hebrew  as  a  Rabbinical  inven- 
tion ;  but  those  grammars  which  treat  of  the  language  without  points, 
generally  unshackle  it  no  less  of  grammatical  ties,  and  thus  represent 
the  language  of  inspiration  as  a  speech,  wherein  almost  every  word 
is  vague  and  indeterminate,  and  every  sentence  devoid  of  rule  and 
fixed  construction. 


SACRED    LITERATURE.  329 

But  be  this  as  it  may,  the  moderns  make  it  a  point  to  neglect  no 
source  of  information  ;  and  much  that  is  valuable  in  the  grammar 
and  lexicography  of  the  present  day,  must  be  attributed  to  a  proper 
attention  to  Jewish  sources.  The  grammar  also  of  the  cognate 
dialects  has  improved  in  like  manner.  The  Baron  de  Sacy  has  to- 
tally changed  the  face  of  Arabic  grammar.  Hoffman  has  left  little 
hope  to  those  who  cultivate  the  field  of  Syriac  philology.* 

With  these  principles,  and  these  advantages,  it  was  that  Gesenius 
undertook  the  task  of  publishing  a  complete  Hebrew  grammar, 
which  appeared  in  1817.t  This  work,  with  his  lexicon,  forms  an 
era  in  biblical  literature:  though  many  severe  strictures  were  at 
first  passed,  it  gained  very  general  and  merited  approbation  ;  and 
many  writers  hesitate  not  to  consider  its  author  as  almost  monopo- 
lising the  Hebrew  learning  of  the  day. 

I  have  detained  you  too  long  with  the  history  of  so  barren  a  dis- 
trict of  science  as  Hebrew  grammar  ;  it  is  time  that  I  should  apply 
it  to  the  object  of  these  lectures. 

The  influence  of  grammar  upon  the  interpretation  of  any  passage,  is 
too  obvious  to  require  explanation.  No  modern  commentator  would 
advance  an  illustration  of  a  text,  without  showing  that  the  meaning  of 
each  word,  and  its  connexion  with  the  passage,  warrant  the  sense  which 
he  has  selected.  To  demonstrate,  on  the  other  hand,  that  his  opin- 
ion involves  the  text  in  a  conflict  with  the  established  rules  of  gram- 
mar, would  be  its  most  unanswerable  refutation.  But  hence,  you 
must  instantly  see  the  importance  of  having  the  standard  rules,  to 
which  every  one  appeals,  certain  and  satisfactory ;  and  how  easily  a 
general  grammatical  canon  may  be  laid  down,  upon  the  authority  of 
a  few  instances,  which  will  fatally  deprive  us  of  an  important  dog- 
matical proof,  or  give  a  totally  nevv  meaning  to  passages  hitherto 
deemed  clear.  In  such  a  case  it  becomes  our  duty  to  examine 
the  universality  of  the  rule  ;  we  may  have  to  enter  into  the  minutiee 
of  philological  discussion  ;  and  in  vain  shall  we  aspire  to  be  com- 
mentators without  being  grammarians.     The  progress  of  study  may, 

*  Hoffman's  work,  however,  must  be  considered  rather  a  conse- 
quence of  the  latest  advances  in  Hebrew  and  Arabic  grammar,  than  as 
a  co-ordinate  improvement.  "  Grammaticfe  Syriacae,  Libri  tres."  Halee, 
1827,  p.  viii. 

f  "  Ausfiihrliches  grammatisch-kritisches  Lehrgebaude  der  hebrais- 
chen  Sprache,  mit  Vergleichung  der  verwandten  Dialektc."  Leipzig, 
1817,  8vo.  pp.  908. 

42 


330  LECTURE    THE    TENTH. 

therefore,  refute  these  difficulties,  and  regain  the  ground  which  such 
partial  researches  appear  to  have  conquered. 

All  this  has,  in  fact,  happened.  When  I  inform  you,  that  the 
most  magnificent  and  most  circumstantial  prophecy  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament had  been  denied  ;  that  the  dispute  concerning  it  had  been 
mainly  reduced  to  a  grammatical  discussion  of  the  force  of  one  little 
word,  supposed  to  be  the  key  to  the  entire  passage  ;  that  a  rule  had 
been  framed  by  the  standard  grammarian  whom  I  have  just  eulogised, 
depriving  this  word  of  the  only  signification  compatible  with  a  pro- 
phetic interpretation  ;  that,  in  fine,  the  researches  of  later  gramma- 
lians,  have  overthrown  this  rule  ;  you  will  allow,  that  important  re- 
sults may  be  gained  by  the  progress  of  this  study,  for  the  vindication 
of  prophecy,  and  consequently  for  confirming  the  truth  of  Christianity. 
For,  there  could  hardly  be  pointed  out  a  passage  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment from  which  this  class  of  evidence  can  be  established  so  satis- 
factorily, as  from  the  fifty -second  and  fifty-third  chapters  of  Isaiah. 
Nothing,  therefore,  remains  for  my  ])roof,  but  briefly  to  sketch  out 
the  history  of  this  controversy,  making  it  as  intelligible  as  possible  to 
those  who  are  unacquainted  with  the  Hebrew  language. 

In  the  three  last  verses  of  the  fifty-second,  and  through  the  whole 
of  the  following  chapter,  are  represented  the  character  and  fate  of  the 
Servant  of  God.  Perhaps  no  portion  of  the  same  extent  in  the  Old 
Testament  is  so  honored  by  quotations  and  references  in  the  New  ; 
it  is  the  passage  which  divine  Providence  used  as  an  instrument  to 
convert  the  eunuch  of  the  queen  of  Ethiopia.*  As  early  as  the  age 
of  Origen,  the  Jews  had  taken  care  to  elude  the  force  of  a  prophecy 
which  described  the  Servant  of  God  as  afflicted,  wounded,  and 
bruised,  and  as  laying  down  his  life  for  his  people,  and  even  for  the 
salvation  of  all  mankind. t  Though  the  Targum,  or  Chaldee  para- 
phrase of  Jonathan,  understood  it  of  the  Messiah,  the  later  Jews 
have  explained  it  either  of  some  celebrated  prophet,  or  of  some  col- 
lective body.  The  modern  adversaries  of  prophecy  have  generally 
adopted  the  latter  interpretation,  though  with  considerable  diversity 
as  to  tlie  particular  application.  The  favorite  theory  seems,  that  it 
represents  under  the  figure  of  the  Servant  of  God,  the  whole  Jewish 
people,  often  designated  under  that  title  in  Scripture, — and  that  it 


•   Acts  8:  32,  33. 

\  Chap.   T,Z:\%     Compare  Malt.  2G:  28,   Rom.  5: 19.  18.52:15,  on 
which  see  Jaliri,  "  Appendix  Hprmenenticap,"  faec.  ii.  Vitn.  1815,  p.  5. 


SACRED    LITERATURE.  '^^  ^ 


is  descriptive  of  tlie  sufferings,  captivity,  and  restoration  of  the  whole 
race  *  Others,  however,  prefer  a  more  restricted  sense,  and  apply 
the  whole  passage  to  the  prophetic  body.  This  explanation  has  met 
with  an  ingenius  and  learned  patron  in  Gesenius.t 

It  is  true,  that  this  servant  of  God  is  represented  as  one  individu- 
al, but  the  advocates  of  the  collective   application  appeal   to  one  text 
as  containing  a  decisive  argument  in  their  favor.     This  is  the  eighth 
verse  of  the  fifty-third   chapter,  "  for  the  sin  of  my  people  a  stroke 
(was  inflicted  "  upon  him.")     The  pronoun  used  here  is  one  of  rare 
occurrence,  found  chiefly  in  the  poets  (r:;  hww.)      This  it  is  as- 
serted is  only  plural,  and  the  text  should  therefore  be  rendered      a 
stroke  is  inflicted  on  the7r>."     Now,  this  meaning  would  be  absolute- 
ly  incompatible  with  a  prophecy  regarding  a  single  individual,  and  is 
therefore  assumed  as  giving  the  key  to  the  entire  passage,  and  prov- 
ing  that  a  collective  body  alone  can  be  signified   under  the  figure  ot 
God's  servant.      The  prophecy,  therefore,  would  be  totally  lost ;    in- 
stead of  a  clear  prediction  of  the  mission  and  redemption  of  the  Mes- 
siah,  we  should  only  have  a  pathetic  elegy  over  the  sufferings  of  the 
prophets,  or  of  the  people !     To  this  word  the  learned  RosenmuUer 
appeals  in  his  prolegomena  to  the  chapter,  for  a  decisive  termination 
of  the  contest,  andsupposes  the  prophet  to  have  used  this  pronoun 
for  the  express  purpose  of  clearing  up  any  difficulty  regarding  his 
meanincr  |     To  it  Gesenius  in  like  manner  refers  for  the  same  pur- 
pose •§  "and  he  considers  it  a  mere  prejudice  to  render  the  passage  in 
the  singular,  as  has  been  done  by  the  Syriac  version  and    by  St.  Je- 


*  Eckermaun.  «  Theolo,ische  Beytrdg."  E.sr  St.  p.  19!.  Rosen- 
muiier,  "  Jesajie  Vaticinia."  Lips.  1820,  vol.  m.  p.  3-2b. 

t  "Philologisch-kntischer  und  histo.iseher  Comuiontar  uher  den 
Jesaia,"  ZweiterTh.  Leips.  1821,  p.  168. 

t  "Omninoautemquo  n.inus  .le  singula  quadam  persona  vatem 
loqii  ex?stiu.emus,  iliud   vetat,   quod  versu  8    -unte      e      la   qu.  ^- 

,.L.tes   inducuutur,  f--- '  ^'^^,:;;;;;,::f':  1  a^e   ul. '.^ 

nsm-nari  videb  iiuis  ad  eiim  locum,  voluitque   vaces   iha  v^.^.^  i 

"  ific-  re  n.iuistrun.  iiiinn  divimun,  de  quo  loquitur,  esse  certam  qua,, 
a'm  n  run  homiuuu.  ejusdem  con.liciouis  coliatiouem  umu.s  personee 
rj  e    epra^sentatau,.     Quun,   igitur  omnis  iuterpretatm,  qu^  s mgu- 

;;;;•  Tlicui  persona.  iKU.c  pericopam    accouwnoda.e  smdent.  plane  «U  .e. 

poneuda,  etc.  ub.  s\tp.  330,  cf.  p.  3o9. 
§    Uii  sup.  p.  1C3,  183. 


332  LECTURE    THE    TENTH. 

rome.*  But  Gesenius,  as  I  have  before  hinted,  had  already  prepared 
the  way  for  his  commentary,  and  prevented  the  necessity  of  any  dis- 
cussion in  it,  by  framing  a  rule  in  his  grammar,  evidently  intended 
for  this  passage. 

There  he  has  laid  down  that  the  poetical  pronoun  iab  is  only 
plural  ;  and  that  though  sometimes  referred  to  singular  nouns,  it  is 
only  when  they  are  collectives.  After  noticing  a  certain  number  of 
examples,  he  adds  the  text  under  consideration.  "  In  this  passage," 
he  remarks,  "  the  grammatical  discussion  has  acquired  a  dogmatical 
interest.  The  subject  of  this  chapter  is  always  mentioned  in  the 
singular,  except  in  this  text,  but  it  is  perfectly  intelligible  how  it 
should  be  changed  in  v.  8  for  a  plural,  since,  as  appears  to  me  cer- 
tain, that  scriHtnt  of  God  is  the  representative  of  the  prophetic 
body."t  You  see,  therefore,  how  important  a  discussion,  in  itself  of 
small  consequence,  may  become  ;  how  the  inquiry  whether  an  insig- 
nificant pronoun  is  only  plural  or  may  be  singular,  has  become  the 
hinge  on  which  a  question  of  real  interest  to  the  evidence  of  Chris- 
tianity has  been  made  to  turn.J 

The  grammatical  labors  of  Gesenius  were  not  so  perfect  as  to 
deter  others  from  cultivating  the  same  field.  In  1827,  a  very  full 
critical  grammar  was  published  by  Ewald,  who  necessarily  discussed 
the  grammatical  rule  laid  down  by  Gesenius  on  the  subject  of  this 
pronoun.  He  brings  together  more  examples,  and  by  an  examination 
of  their  context  or  parallel  passages,  determines  satisfactorily,  that 

*  Erst.  Th.  erste  Abth.  p.  86,  88.  Tho  Targum,  Symmachus  and 
Theodotion,  wiio  are  not  Christian  interpreters,  render  the  word  in  the 
same  manner. 

7  Lnhrgeljaiidc;  p.  221. 

I  It  niiisl  be  remeinbered  that  the  discussion  of  this  particular 
prophecy  is  closely  connected  with  the  principle  whether  prophecy  ex- 
ists at  all  in  the  Old  Testament.  It  is  by  such  special  explanations  that 
rntionalists  get  rid  of  the  whole  system  of  prophecy,  whereby  the  truth 
of  Christianity  i.>  so  tniieh  confirmed.  This  jiassage,  moreover,  is  of 
peculiar  importance  in  proving  the  mission  of  Christ,  and  his  identity 
with  the  promised  king  of  the  Jews.  I  mu.'^t  also  observe,  that,  besides 
the  solutions  in  tiie  te.\t,  others  liave  been  given  which  .secure  the 
prophecy,  and  yet  leave  the  pronoun  in  the  plural.  One  is  in  Jahn, 
ubi  sxtp.  p.  24  ;  another,  I  tiiink  more  conformable  to  Hebrew  usage, 
in  Hengstenberg's  "  Chri.stologie  des  alten  Testaments."  Berlin,  1829, 
Erst.  Th.  y.wfif.  Abth.  p.  ^39. 


SACRED    LITERATURE.  383 

this  unusual  form  may  well  bear  a  singular  signification.*  The 
difficulty  against  the  prophetic  interpretation  is  thus  removed  by  one 
of  the  most  modern  grammarians,  and  all  those  internal  arguments  in 
its  favor  are  restored  to  their  native  force,  by  perseverance  in  the 
very  study  which  had  been  brought  to  confute  them. 

Hermeneutics,  or  the  principles  of  biblical  interpretation,  will  scarce- 
ly appear  to  you  a  science  more  capable  of  improvement  than  Hebrew 
grammar.  Did  not  the  early  writers  of  the  Church  understand  the 
sacred  volume,  and  must  they  not  have  been,  therefore,  guided  by 
fixed  and  correct  rules  in  its  interpretation?  I  well  understand  the 
force  of  this  question,  which  will  receive,  perhaps,  a  sufficient  answer 
in  what  I  shall  presently  say.  But  when  I  speak  of  hermeneutics  as 
a  science,  I  mean  that  regular  digest  of  principles  and  rules  which 
qualifies  the  student  to  study,  with  comparative  facility,  God's  holy 
word  ;  and  just  as  we  have  certainly  better  grammars  of  the  Greek 
and  Latin  languages  than  those  who  spoke  them,  without  our  there- 
fore claiming  to  know  or  understand  them  better  than  they,  so  has 
modern  diligence  collected  and  arranged  with  care  those  principles 
of  sacred  hermeneutics,  founded  on  reason  and  logic,  which  are  to  be 
found  scattered  in  the  writings  of  the  ancients,  and  were  applied  by 
them  when  interpreting  literally,  without  referring  to  them  as  rules. 

I  am  not  afraid  of  this  last  assertion  being  disputed.  It  is  true 
that  the  fathers  often  run  into  allegories  and  mysteries  which  the 
taste  of  the  age  required,  and  which  conduced  to  the  moral  instruc- 
tion of  their  readers  or  hearers.  It  is  true,  that  when  commenting 
even  literally,  they  do  not  always  follow  those  theoretical  maxims 
which  they  have  themselves  clearly  laid  down,  but  prefer  appropriate 


*"Kritische  Grammatik  der  Hebraischen  Sprache  ausfiihrlich 
bearbeitet  von  D.  Georg,  11.  A.  Ewald,"  Leipzig,  1827,  p.  365.  It  would 
be  out  of  place,  in  a  popular  lecture,  to  enter  into  the  minute  confirma- 
tions of  a  grammatical  rule.  I  will  therefore  observe  in  this  note,  that, 
besides  the  examples  given  by  Ewald  from  Job  27:  23,  but  especially 
Is.  44:  15,  17,  which  is  quite  satisfactory,  other  considerations  confirm 
the  singular  rendering  of  i^b  1.  The  suffix  173  attached  to  nouns  is 
certainly  singular  in  Ps.  11:  7.'  TQ''?.D  "  his  face,"  speaking  of  God.  A 
plural  suffix  is  never  referred  to  the  name  Jnr;";  as  a  plurale  majestatis, 
(Ewald  ib.)  and  hence  Gesenius  supposes  the  use  of  this  suffix  to  have 
been  a  mistake  of  the  author's  {ubi  sup.  p.  216.)  2.  In  Ethiopic  the 
suffix  i^T  is  certainly  singular.  Lud.  De  Deu.  Crit.  Sacra,  p.  226. 
Animad.  in  V.  T.  p.  547.  This  pronoun  seems  to  be  common  not  only 
to  both  numbers,  but  also  to  both  genders,  as  it  seems  to  be  feminine  in 
Job  39:  7. 


334  LECTURE    THE    TENTH. 

theological  discussions,  to  the  less  engaging  occupation  of  the  scholi- 
ast. Bat,  notwithstanding  this,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  affirm,  that  the 
best  principles  of  biblical  interpretation  are  to  be  found  in  their  trea- 
tises, and  the  most  judicious  and  acute  application  of  them  in  their 
commentaries. 

The  fathers  knew  very  well  the  difference  between  literal  and 
allegorical  interpretation.  St.  Ephrem,  for  instance,  is  careful  to 
warn  his  readers  when  he  is  going  to  neglect  the  literal,  for  the  mysti- 
cal sense.*  Indeed,  Junilius  has  assured  us,  that  a  course,  introduc- 
tory to  Scripture,  was  delivered  in  the  Syriac  school  of  Nisibis,  in 
which  St.  Ephrem  lived  ;  and  has  given  a  compendium  of  the  princi- 
ples there  taught.  These  he  collected  from  the  mouth  of  a  Persian 
scholar,  and  they  certainly  compress  in  few  words  the  chief  substance 
of  modern  hermeneutics.t  The  merit  of  St.  Chrysostom  as  a  literal 
commentator,  who  knows  how  to  use  all  the  pretended  improvements 
of  modern  biblists,  is  acknowledged  by  Winer,  a  critic  of  the  severest 
school. I  Nor  does  he  deny  unequivocal  praise  to  his  disciple  Theo- 
doret.§  But  as  I  am  upon  this  subject,  you  will,  I  trust,  indulge  me 
a  few  moments  while  I  trace  an  important  revolution  in  the  opinions 
of  the  moderns,  and  show  how  the  increasing  attention  to  this  branch 
of  theology,  has  served  to  vindicate  the  early  writers  of  Christianity. 
A  few  years  ago  it  was  the  fashion  to  consider  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church  as  devoid  of  fixed  or  solid  principles  of  interpretation,  and 
their  commentaries  as  a  tissue  of  blunders  or  mistakes.  The  pro- 
gress of  herrneneutics  has  produced  this  fruit,  among  others,  that 
this  prejudice  has  worn  away,  and  those  learned  and  pious  men  have 
regained,  in  modern  works,  that  respect  and  deference  which  had 


*  See  "  Horoe  Syriacae,"  p.  54;  and  Gaah's  Essay  on  the  method  of 
commenting  followed  by  St.  Epiirem  in  the  "  Memorabilien"  of  Paulus. 
No.  i.  |).  65,  seqq. 

f  '^De  Partibus  Divinse  Legis,"  in  "  Biblioth.  magna  Pat.  Col.  torn, 
vi.  F.  ii. 

I  "  In  lis  enim,  quas  ad  singulos,  SS.  lihros  confecit,  homiiias,  nihil 
antiquins  habet,  nisi  sensuum  el  singuloram  verbonim  et  integrorum 
commatum  e  loquendi  usu,  ex  historiis,  e  scriptorum  denique  sacrorum 
consUiis  explicare,  eaque  in  re  idoneam  probavit  solertiam,  ita  id  si  qua 
parum  rede  nihil  tamen  tenure  dictum  reperialur."  "  Pauli  ad  Galatas 
Epistola  Greece,  perpetiia  atmotatione  illustravit  Dr.  G.  Ben.  Winer," 
Lips.  1828,  p.  15.  Of  what  modern  commentator  can  as  much  be  said  ? 

§  lb.  p.  16. 


SACRED    LITERATURE.  335 

been  so  inconsistently  refused  them.     Two  examples  of  this  change 
of  sentiment  will  fully  justify  my  assertion. 

Of  St.  Augustine,  the  candid  Ernesti  has  written,  that  "  had  he 
been  acquainted  with  Hebrew  and  Greek,  the  greatness  and  subtilty 
of  his  genius  would  have  raised  him  to  a  pre-eminence  above  all 
ancient  commentators."*  Guarded  as  this  praise  may  be,  it  is  the 
language  of  panegyric,  when  compared  with  the  unmeasured  censure 
and  scurrilous  language  of  the  elder  Rosenmiiller.  In  his  "History 
of  the  interpretation  of  Scripture  in  the  Christian  Church,"t  which 
has  been  for  some  years  a  book  of  reference  in  Germany,  he  under- 
takes to  discuss  the  character  and  merits  of  that  holy  Bishop.  He 
details  the  wanderings  of  his  youth,  in  order  to  conclude  that  he 
rather  "obscured  than  illustrated  the  sacred  writings;"  and  that,  as 
"  he  preferred  the  authority  of  his  master,  St.  Ambrose,  to  all  the 
principles  of  sound  reason,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  disciple  was  no 
wiser  than  his  master."^  That  St.  Augustine  was  not  unacquainted 
with  the  principles  of  interpretation,  Rosenmiiller  is  not  bold  enough 
to  deny,  but  his  conclusion  is,  "  Augustinum  nomine  interpretis  vix 
esse  dignum  ;"  nor  does  he  even  allow  him  that  acuteness  and  talent 
which  Ernesti  so  unrestrictedly  concedes.§  Such  a  character  of  the 
learned  and  pious  Bishop  of  Hippo,  is,  however,  worthy  of  a  history 
which  gives  the  first  rank,  among  Christian  commentators,  to  the 
heretics  Pelagius  and  Julian  !  || 

But  a  vindicator  has  not  been  wanting  ;  and  the  merits  of  this 
great  Father  have  been  diligently  canvassed,  and  solidly  demonstrated, 
within  these  few  years,  by  Dr.  Henry  Clausen.  His  interesting  little 
volume,  published  at  Copenhagen,  has  placed  the  merits  of  St.  Augus- 
tine, as  a  biblical  scholar,  in  a  new  and  honorable  light.H  It  is 
there  proved,  that  he  was  sufficiently  acquainted  with  Greek  to  make 
a  useful  application  of  it  in  his  commentaries  ;**  that  he  has  laid 

*  "  Instit.  Interp.  N.  T."  Lips.  1809,  p.  342. 

f  "D.  Jo.  Georg.  Rosenmiilleri  Historia  Interpretationis  Librornm 
SS.  in  Ecclesia  Christiana,"  5  parts,  Hildbwgh  and  Leips.  1798—1814. 

X  Pars.  iii.  Lips.  1807,  p.  404—406. 

§  Augustine  is  not  worthy  of  the  name  of  an  interpreter."— P.  500, 
teqq. 

P  P.  .505,  537. 

H  "Aurelius  Augustinus  Hipponensis  Sacroe  Scripturse  Interpres." 
Haun<ei,  1827,  8vo.  271  pp.     The  autiior  is  a  Protestant. 

♦*  P.  33,  39.  cf.  Rosenmiil.  1.  c.  p.  404. 


386  LECTURE    THE    TENTH. 

down  clearly  all  those  principles  "  which  are  the  stamina  and  first 
elements  of  chaste  and  sound  criticism  ;"*  that  he  has  both  diffusely 
given,  and  condensed  all  the  best  maxims  of  hermeneutics  ;t  that  by 
the  good  use  of  these,  joined  to  his  natural  sagacity,  he  has  been  fre- 
quently most  happy  in  elucidating  the  obscurities  of  Scripture, |  in 
confuting,  by  accurate  research,  the  erroneous  interpretations  of 
others  ;<^  and  that  he  has  frequently  removed  difficulties  by  acutely 
penetrating  the  views  of  the  inspired  writers,  and  adducing  parallel 
texts.  1 1 

St.  Jerome,  the  illustrious  contemporary  and  friend  of  St.  Augus- 
tine, has  been  the  object  of  still  falser  obloquy,  conveyed  in  even 
coarser  terms.  Of  him  Luther  had  said,  that,  instead  of  reckoning 
him  a  Doctor  of  the  Church,  he  considered  him  a  heretic,  though  he 
believed  him  to  have  been  saved  through  his  faith  in  Christ.  He 
adds,  "  I  know  none  among  the  Doctors  to  whom  I  am  more  an  ene- 
my than  Jerome,  because  he  writes  only  of  fasting,  meats,  and  vir- 
ginity." ||  But  the  elder  Rosenmiiller  is  more  definite,  and  more  vio- 
lent in  his  charges  against  him  as  a  biblical  expositor.  He  scarcely 
allows  him  a  single  good  quality.  According  to  him,  his  knowledge 
of  the  languages,  and  of  Palestine,  is  fully  counterbalanced,  by  his 
groundless  etymologies,  his  rabbinical  subtleties,  and  his  total  inability 
to  seize  the  views  of  his  author  !^  Nay,  these  are  the  lightest  of  his 
failings  ;  what  erudition  he  did  possess,  he  only  employed  to  pervert 

*  P.  135. 

f  P.  137,  seqq.  St.  Augustine  names  three  qualiiies,  with  which 
any  one  attempting  the  illustration  of  Scripture  should  be  furnished. 
1.  A  knowledge  of  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  languages,  (scientia  lingua- 
rum,  or,  as  he  elsewhere  explains  himself,  lingucR  Hebreee  et  GrfBcm  cog- 
nitio.)  2.  A  knowledge  of  Biblical  archfeology,  (cognilione  rerum  qua- 
rundam  necessariarum,  elsewhere  detailed  as  a  knowledge  of  the  philoso- 
phy, history,  physics,  and  literature  of  the  Bible.  3.  An  acquaintance 
with  the  critical  rules  for  discussing  the  proper  reading  of  the  text, 
(adjuvante  codicum  veritate  quam  solers  emendationis  diligentia procuravit.) 
De  Doct.  Christ.  1.  i.  c.  i.  Clausen,  p.  140. 

I  P.  181,  seqq.  §  P.  207,  seqq. 

II  "  Hieronymus  soil  nicht  unter  die  Lehrerder  Kirche  mitgerechnet 
noch  gezahlet  werden  ;  denn  er  ist  ein  Ketzer  gewesen  ;  doch  glaube 
ich,  dass  er  selig  sey  durch  den  Glauben  an  Christum.  Ich  weiss  kei- 
nem  unter  dem  Lehrern  dem  ich  so  feind  bin,  als  Hieronymus;  denn 
er  schreibt  nur  von  Fasten,  Speisen,  und  Jungfrauschaft."  —  "  Luther's 
eammlichte  Schriften."  Th.  xxii.  p.  2070,  ed.  Walch. 

H  Rosenmiiller,  ubi  sup.  p.  346. 


SACKED     MTERATTRE.  337 

tlie  doctrines  of  Christianity,  nor  can  lie  be  considered  as  possessing 
the  slightest  pretensions  to  theological  knowledge  !* 

For  a  change  of  opinion  among  modern  scholars,  upon  the  merits 
of  this  Father,  we  need  not  step  beyond  the  family  of  his  accuser. 
The  younger  Roscnmiiller,  by  his  culogiums  and  ])ractical  apjiroba- 
tion,  has  compensated  for  the  scurrilous  and  indecent  censures  of  his 
father.  He  has  observed,  that  the  commentaries  of  this  learned  doc- 
tor must  be  held  in  the  greatest  estimation,  on  account  of  the  learn- 
ing with  which  he  always  supports  whatever  interpretation  he  em- 
braces.t  He  is  not  content  with  verbal  praise,  for  the  constant  use 
made  in  his  commentaries,  of  the  exegetical  labors  of  our  Father,  am- 
ply shows  the  sincere  estimation  in  which  he  holds  them.  Through 
his  Scholia  on  the  minor  prophets,  he  seldom  has  occasion  to  depart 
from  the  sentiments  of  his  illustrious  guide. 

I  have  detained  you  long  on  an  early  period  of  biblical  literature, 
because  it  proves,  that  even  the  history  of  hermeneutics  is  an  advanc- 
ing science  ;  and  that  its  advance  has  served  to  remove  prejudices 
against  the  early  writers  of  Christianity,  and  to  vindicate  their  char- 
acter from  the  rash  and  unwarranted  aggressions  of  the  liberal  school. 

Having  thus  shown  that,  however  modern  this  science  may  be  in 
its  code,  it  is  as  ancient  as  Christianity  in  its  principles,  we  must  pass 
over  the  lapse  of  a  thousand  years  of  its  history,  and  approach  nearer 
our  own  times.  Upon  the  revival  of  letters,  numerous  commentators 
arose  among  our  divines,  whose  works  have  shared  the  obloquy  heap- 
ed upon  those  of  the  fifth  century.  It  has  been  esteemed  a  duty  to 
decry  the  voluminous  productions  of  these  diligent,  and  often  saga- 


*  I  trust  it  will  be  with  deserving  indignation,  that  the  following 
bitter  passages  are  read,  by  all  who  value  the  venerable  ornaments  of 
early  Christianity :—"  Maxiine  aiilem  dolendinu  est,  luuic  tantum  virum 
eruditione  sua  tarn  turpitur  ahiisuiii  esse,  ad  pervertendam  doctrinam 
Christianam,  in  sacris  literis  traditam,  atque  ad  ojnnis  g(3neris  supersti- 
tiones  defendendas  et  propagandas."  He  then  proceeds  to  attribute  to 
him,  "immodicuin  studium  suas  ahsnrdissimas  opiuiones  tuendi,  iucred- 
ibilis  anitiii  impotentia  et  superstilio,  furor  quo  abreptus,"  etc.  p.  369. — 
"Ex  hactenus  dictis  satis,  ut  opiiior,  ajjparet,  Sanctum  (si  Diis  placet) 
Hieronymum  cunj  omni  sua  eruditione  liebraica,  grgeca,  latina,  geogra- 
phica,  etc.  fuisse  Monachorum  superstitiosissimum,  omnis  verse  erudi- 
tionis  iheologicce  expertem.  Ut  paucis  dicamus,  religioni  plus  nocuit 
quam  profuit." — p.  393. 

f  "Ezechielis  Vaticinia,"  Lips.  1826,  vol.  i.  p.  26.  We  n)ay  for- 
give filial  aftection,  when  he  refers  us  to  the  work  of  his  father  for  the 
character  of  St.  Jerome,  whom  he  himself  portrays  so  difterently,  p.  25. 
43 


338  LECTURE    THE    TENTH. 

cious,  expositors,  as  a  mere  mass  of  literary  rubbish,  fit,  perhaps,  to 
fill  tlie  shelves  of  a  library,  but  not  to  encumber  the  table  of  the  stu- 
dent. 

But  though  they  are  often  too  prolix,  and  tend  too  much  to  alle- 
gorical interpretation,  it  would  be  injustice  to  deny,  that  in  the  dili- 
gent collection  and  discussion  of  others'  opinions,  in  a  sagacious  ex- 
amination of  the  context  and  bearing  of  a  passage,  and  in  the  happy 
removal  of  serious  difliculties,  they  have  cleared  the  way  for  their 
successors,  and  effected  much  more  than  these  are  always  careful  to 
acknowledge.  The  commentary,  for  instance,  of  Pradus  and  Villa- 
pandu^rijon  Ezekiel,  which  was  published  at  Rome  from  1596  to 
1604,  ife  still  the  great  repertory  to  which  every  modern  scholiast 
must  recur,  in  explaining  the  difficulties  of  that  book,  and  is  ac- 
knowledged, by  the  most  learned  of  them,  to  be  "  a  work  replete 
with  varied  erudition,  and  most  useful  to  the  study  of  antiquity."* 
The  annotations  of  Agelli  upon  the  Psalms,  published  also  at  Rome 
in  1606,  have  been  pronounced  by  the  same  writer,  after  Ernesti, 
the  work  of  "  a  most  learned  and  most  sagacious  author,  who  is  pe- 
culiarly happy  in  explaining  the  relations  of  the  Alexandrian  and 
Vulgate  versions."!  Even  greater  commendations  are  lavished 
by  the  learned  and  ingenious  Schultens,  upon  the  Spanish  Jesuit 
Pineda,  whose  notes  upon  Job  (Madrid  1597)  he  acknowledges  to 
"  have  eased  him  of  no  small  part  of  his  labors."  He  styles  their 
author,  "  Theologus  et  Literator  eximius,  magnus  apud  suos,  apud 
nos  quoque."!  Maldonatus  on  the  Gospels,  has  been  praised  and 
recommended  by  Ernesti,  though,  as  might  be  expected,  the  recom- 
mendation is  recalled  in  harsh  terms,  by  his  annotator  Ammon.§ 
When,  some  years  ago,  it  was  proposed  in  Germany  to  republish 
Calmet's  commentaries,  the  very  mention  of  such  a  scheme  excited 
the  ridicule  of  the  liberal  school  ;||  yet  I  have  been  assured  by  a  very 
sound  scholar,  that  he  liad  compared  his  notes  on  Isaiah  with 
Lowth's,  and  had  generally  found  the  most  beautiful  illustrations  of 


*  Rosenmliller,  "  Ezecliielis  Vaticiiiia,"  vol.  i.  Lips.  1826,  p.  32. 
t  "Psalmi,"  vol.  i.  Lips.  1821,  Prsef.  (p.  5.) 

I  "  Liher  Jobi  cuiri  nova  versione  et  coiuiiicntario  |)cr{)ttuo."  Lug. 
Bat.  1737,  to.  i.  Pra?f.  (p.  11.) 

§  "Inst.  Jut."  p.  353. 

II  If  1  reuieniher  right,  there  is  a  paper  on  this  siiliject,  somewhere 
ill  "Eichhorn's  Allgemeine  Bibliothek." 


SACRED    LITERATURE.  339 

the  English  Bishop,  anticipated  by  the  learned  Benedictine.  An- 
other learned  friend  has  pointed  out  to  me  considerable  transcrif)- 
tions  from  him,  in  modern  annotators,  without  the  slightest  acknow- 
ledgment.* But  no  one  has  put  the  truth  of  these  observations  in 
a  stronger  light  than  my  late  amiable  and  excellent  friend.  Prof. 
Ackermann,  in  his  Commentary  on  the  Minor  Prophets. t  Through 
the  whole  of  this  work,  the  opinions  of  the  old  Catholic  divines  have 
been  collected,  and  honourably  mentioned.  It  is  pleasing  to  see 
these  writers  whose  names  it  has  become  so  unfashionable  to  quote, 
once  more  treated  with  respect ;  and  there  is  something  almost 
amusing  in  the  frequent  juxtaposition  of  Rosenmiiller  and  Cornelius  a 
Lapide,  Oedmann  and  Figueiro,  Horst  and  De  Castro. 

If  I  have  wandered  into  such  long  digressions  upon  the  older 
commentators,  you  will  allow  that  the  results  obtained,  bear  strongly 
upon  my  subject,  and  unite  their  conclusions  with  the  general  issue 
of  the  discourses.  For  it  will,  I  trust,  have  appeared,  that  the  study 
and  application  of  hermeneutics,  though  not  digested  into  a  system, 
have  always  been  followed  in  the  Church,  and  that  the  progress  of 
the  science  has  removed  old  prejudices,  and  vindicated  the  memory 
of  men  entitled  to  the  respect  and  gratitude  of  every  Christian. 

From  them  I  must  turn  to  a  very  different  class.  After  the  mid- 
dle of  the  last  century,  Semler  gave  the  first  impulse  to  what  he  de- 
nominated the  liberal  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures.  A  denial  of 
inspiration,  the  resolution  of  every  miracle  into  an  allegory,  or  a  vis- 
ion, or  a  delusion,  or  a  natural  event  clothed  in  the  language  of  ori- 
ental exaggeration,  and  a  total  denial  of  prophecy,  are  the  characte- 
ristics of  his  school.  That  belief  in  inspiration  cannot  be  required 
from  any  protestant  divine,  Semler  argues  from  the  acknowledged 
principles  of  all  the  Reformed  Churches  ;|  for  this  impious  explana- 
tion of  miracles,  actual  rules  have  been  laid  down  by  Ammon;§  and 


*  For  instance,  Roseninulier's  "  Proplielse  Miiiores,"  vol.  ii.  Lips. 
1813,  p.  337,  seqq.  is  taken  almost  verbatim  from  Calmet's  preface  on 
Jonas,  "Commentaire  literal."  vol,  vi.  ]).  893,  fol.  Par.  172(3. 

f  "  Prophetse  Minores  perpetua  annotatione  illustrati  a  Dre  P.  F. 
Ackermann."   Vienna,  1830. 

X  In  his  preface  to  "  Vogel's  Compendium  of  Schultens  on  the 
Proverbs."  Halle,  1769,  p.  5. 

§  "De  interpretatioue  narrationum  mirabilium  N.  T."  prefixed  to  his 
Ernesti,  Ed.  sup.  cit.  He  seems,  however,  to  allow  some  miracles, 
p.  xiv. 


340  LECTURE    THE    TENTH. 

practical  applications  of  (hem  abouiul  in  the  works  of  Eichhorn,  Pau- 
lus,  Gabler,  Schuster,  Rettig,  and  many  others.  But  it  is  chiefly 
on  the  progress  of  liermeneutics  in  tlie  interpretation  of  prophecy, 
that  I  wish  to  detain  you  a  few  moments ;  because,  by  it  the  Old 
Testament  principally  is  connected  with  the  evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

Any  one  accustomed,  as  you  have  been,  to  hear  the  prophecies 
of  the  Old  Testament  treated,  not  merely  vvith  respect,  but  with  ven- 
eration, must  be  shocked  to  see  with  what  open  liberty  they  are 
handled  by  authors  of  this  school.  De  Wette,  for  instance,  never 
thinks,  in  his  Introductory  Manual,  of  even  noticing  the  belief  that 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  real  prediction,  in  the  writings  of  Isaiah,  or 
of  his  fellow  prophets.  The  only  difference  between  them  and  the 
seers  of  pagan  nations  is,  that  "  these  wanted  the  true  and  moral 
spirit  of  monotheism,  by  which  the  Hebrew  prophecy  was  purified 
and  consecrated."*  I  will  not  further  shock  you  by  following  the 
history  of  this  wretched  school,  the  impieties  of  which,  have  unfortu- 
nately so  widely  prevailed  on  the  continent,  as  to  be  openly  taught 
by  persons  holding  theological  chairs  in  Protestant  universities,  and 
published  by  men  who  call  themselves,  on  their  title-page,  pastors  of 
Protestant  congregations.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  state  that  the  late 
Professor  Eichhorn  reduced  to  system  the  rationalist  theory  of  prophe- 
cy, and  pretended  to  establish  a  complete  parallelism  between 
the  messengers  of  the  true  God,  and  the  soothsayers  of  heathenism. t 

With  such  principles  as  these,  we  must  expect  to  find  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  prophecies  dreadfully  perverted.  Hence,  in  many 
modern  commentaries,  the  predictions  relating  to  the  Messiah  are 
either  totally  overlooked,  or  systematically  attacked.  Jahn,  though 
a  rash,  unsound  writer,  did  .something  towards  vindicating  and  illus- 
trating many  of  them  ;t  and  the  prophecies  in  the  Psalms  are  much 
indebted  to  Michaelis  for  an  able  defence. §  In  Rosenmidler  there 
is  much  inequality  ;  on  some  occa.sions  he  takes  the  side  of  our  ad- 

*  "  Lelirbticli  der  lii.storiscli-kritischeii  Einleitung.  Zweytc  ver- 
besserle  A  ullage."  Berlin,  1822,  p.  27U. 

t  "  Einleitung  in  <ias  Alte  Testament,"  4tli  ed.  Colling.  1824,  vol, 
iv.  p.  xiv. 

J   "Appendi.x  IJermeneiit."    I'ientia,  1813,  1815. 

§  "Critisches  Collegium  ul>nr  die  drey  wichtigsten  Psaimen,  von 
Christo."  Frmil>f.  and  Golting.  1759. 


SACRED    LITERATURE. 


341 


versaries,  as  on  the  fifty-third  chapter  of  Isaiah,  and  in  impugning 
the  genuineness  of  tlie  latter  portion  of  tiiat  hook.  On  other  occa- 
sions, he  stands  forth  as  a  learned  and  able  advocate  for  the  prophet- 
ic sense  ;  and  I  need  only  instance  his  annotations  on  the  forty-fifth 
Psalm,  and  his  dissertation  on  the  celebrated  prediction  in  Isaiah  vii.* 
The  depraved  state  into  which  hermeneutical  science  had  thus 
sunk,  was  sure  to  produce  a  reaction,  and  through  it,  a  return  to  bet- 
ter principles.  This  has  already  in  a  great  measure  been  the  case, 
and  works  have  appeared,  which  having  profited  by  the  great  erudi- 
tion brought  into  play  on  the  other  side,  have  drawn  some  good  out 
of  the  mass  of  evil  accumulated  on  this  study.  For  they  have  fully 
shown  that  the  learning  and  ingenuity  displayed  in  attacking  divine 
prophecy,  may  be  well  enlisted  in  the  better  cause,  and  retain  all 
their  brilliant,  though  they  lose  their  dazzling  power.  I  will  only 
notice  the  work  of  Hengstenberg  upon  the  prophecies  regarding 
Christ,  in  which  the  series  of  prophetic  announcement  is  analysed 
and  vindicated  with  great  sagacity,  and  solid  learning.  The  doc- 
trines of  a  suffering  Messiah,  and  of  Christ's  divinity,  as  foretold  in 
the  Old  Testament,  are  admirably  exposed  ;  all  that  Rabbins  and 
Fathers,  oriental  and  classical  writers,  can  contribute,  is  lucidly  and 
effectively  brought  together  ;  the  objections  of  adversaries  are  skil- 
fully solved  or  removed,  and  a  great  felicity  and  tact  is  exhibited  in 
unravelling  the  sense  of  obscure  phraseology.t  We  may,  indeed, 
say,  that  in  his  hands,  the  very  science,  which  till  lately  appeared 
ruinous  to  the  cause  of  inspired  truth,  becomes  a  most  efficient  in- 
strument for  its  vindication. 

Allow  me  now  to  give  you  what  I  consider  an  example  of  a  high- 
er order  of  application ;  and  pardon  me  if,  for  a  few  moments,  I  de- 
part from  the  popular  form  which  I  have  endeavored  to  preserve 
throughout  these  Lectures ;  for  the  subject  may  well  seem  to  merit, 
and  certainly  requires,  more  learned  disquisition.  Among  some  ar- 
guments urged  by  Michaelis  for  rejecting  the  two  first  chapters  of 
St.  Matthew's  Gospel,  is  one  founded  on  the  following  circumstance. 
They  contain  several  references  to  the  Old  Testament,  introduced 
by  the  formulas,  "  all  this  was  done,  that  it  might  be  fvlfilled  which 


*  "  Jesajoe  Vaticin."  Tom.  i.  i).  292. 

f  "Cliristologie  des  alten  Testament.^  utui  Cointiienta  liber  die  mes- 
sianischeii  \Veissagungen  der  I'ropheten,"  Berlin,  1829,  vol.  i.  Pa.  i.  ii. 
Other  parts  have  since  been  pulilished. 


342  LECTURE    THE    TENTH. 

the  Lord  spoke  by  the  prophets  ;"*  ^' for  so  it  is  written  by  the  pro- 
phet ;"t  "  that  it  might  he  fulfilled  which  the  Lord  spoke  by  the  pro- 
phet;"! "  '^'^''*  '^"-^  fulfilled  that  which  was  spoken. "§  According 
to  him,  the  texts  thus  quoted  to  not  appear  literally  to  correspond  to 
the  events  to  which  they  are  applied  ;  and  he  refuses  to  consider 
them  as  mere  quotations,  or  adaptations,  on  account  of  the  strong 
forms  of  introduction.  No  examples,  he  observes,  can  be  brought  of 
any  phrase,  so  strong  as  the  ones  which  I  have  quoted,  being  used  to 
introduce  a  mere  accommodation  of  a  text.  He  must,  therefore, 
consider  the  writer's  meaning  to  be,  that  the  circumstances  which 
he  describes,  truly  formed  the  fulfilment  of  those  ancient  prophecies. 
Now,  proceeding  on  the  principle  of  private  interpretation,  he  thinks 
they  cannot  be  so  taken,  and,  as  an  inspired  writer  could  not  have 
committed  an  error,  he  will  rather  attribute  those  chapters  to  some 
other,  and  that  an  uninspired  author,  than  bend  these  phrases  to 
signify  simply  an  adaptation  of  Scripture  texts. || 

It  is  this  objection  which  I  wish  to  meet.  I  am  not  going  to  ex- 
amine the  texts  singly,  and  prove  that  they  may  well  be  considered 
applicable  to  the  events  of  our  Saviour's  life  ;  I  wish  to  meet  the 
broad  question,  and  show  how  the  progress  of  oriential  research  cuts 
away  the  ground  from  under  the  rationalist's  feet,  and  totally  over- 
throws the  chief  argument  on  which  the  rejection  of  those  two  im- 
portant chapters  has  been  based. 

Most  commentators.  Catholic  and  Protestant,  will  be  found  to 
agree,  that  some  texts,  even  when  thus  introduced,  may  be  mere  alle- 
gations, without  its  being  intended  to  declare  that  the  literal  fulfil- 
ment took  place  on  the  occasion  described.  Many  writers  have 
taken  great  pains  to  prove,  that  even  the  forms  of  expression  which 
I  have  cited,  are  not  incompatible  with  this  idea ;  and,  for  this  pur- 
pose, they  have  chiefly  used  the  writings  of  the  Rabbins,  and  of 
classical  authors.  Thus,  Surenhusius  produced  a  large  volume  upon 
the  forms  of  quotation  used  by  the  Rabbins  ;  but  did  not  adduce  a 
single  passage  where  the  word y«/^//e(/ occurs.^  Dr.  Sykes  asserts, 
that  such  expressions  are  to  be  found  in  every  page  of  Jewish  writers  ; 

»  Matt.  1:22.  f  2:5. 

X  Matt.  2:  15.  §  2:  17. 

II  Michaelis's  "Introduction  to  the  New  Testament,"  vol.  i.  pp.  206 
— 214,  INlarsh's  translation. 

II  Bi^Xos  xaiialXayrig.  .Imslerd.  1713. 


SACRED    LITERATURE. 


343 


but  does  not  quote  one  single  example.*     Knapp  repeats  the  same 
assertion,  saying,  "  that  the   Hebrew  and  Chaldaic  verb,  Nb72,  and 
the  Chaldaic  and  Rabbinical  words,  -jpn,  C^V-rN,   and  ~i7:a,  signify 
to  consummate,  or  corifirm  a  thing."t     He  then  gives  an  example  of 
the  tirst  word,  from  1  Kings   1:  14,  where  the  meaning  is  only,  "  I 
will  complde  your  words."     Prof.  Tholuck  has,  indeed,  brought  sev- 
eral examples  from  the  Rabbins  to  establish  this  meaning.     The 
two  strongest  are  these  :— "  He  who  eats  and  drinks,  and  afterwards 
prays,  of  him  it  is  lorittcn,  '  thou  hast  cast  me  behind  thy  back.'  " — 
"Since  the  'T'lzt   ( Shamir,  vl  fabulous   animal)  has  destroyed  the 
temple,  the  current  of  divine  grace,  and  pious  men,  has  ceased,  as  it 
is  written.     Psal.  12:  2."     To  these  he  has  added  a  passage  from  the 
chronicle  of  Barhebraeus,  a  Syriac  writer  of  a  much   later  age.     Tt 
simply  says—"  They  saw  the  anger  whereof  the  prophet  says,  I  will 
bear  the  anger  of  the  Lord,  because  I  have  sinned. "|     The  force  of 
which  words  extend  no   further  than  this,—"  they  saw  the  anger  of 
the   Lord."     Mr.  Sharpe,  and   others,   have  quoted   a  kw  passages 
from  Greek  classics  ;  but  they  are  far  from  coming  up  to  the  deter- 
minate and  strong  form  of  the  phrases  in  the  New  Testament.^  For, 
after  all,  Michaelis's  observation  stands  good,  that  none  of  them  equal 
in  force  the  words,  "  Then  was  fulfilled  that  which  was  spoken  by 
the  prophet:"  and  his  annotator's    question  remains  unanswered, 
"  was  this  expression  used  in  this  sense  by  the  Rabbins  ?"|1 

One  example,  however,  may  seem  to  escape  this  censure.  It  is  a 
passage  quoted  by  Wetstein  from  the  compendium  of  St.  Ephrem's 
life  given  in  Assemani's  Bibliotheca  Orientalis ;  where  an  angel  thus 

*  "Truth  of  the  Christian  Religion,"  Lond.  1725,  pp.  206-296. 

t  Georgii  Cliri^n.  Knapp,  "  Scripta  varii  argumenti  maximam  par- 
tem exagelici  ethistorici  argumenti,"  Ed.  2,  Halle,  1823,  torn.  ii.  p.  523. 

t"Commentar  zu  detn  Evangelio  .lohannis,"  J/amft.  1827,  p.  68. 
Some  years  ago,  tliis  learned  professor  asked  me,  whether,  in  tlie  course 
of  reading,  I  had  met  witli  passages,  in  Syriac  writers,  calculated  to  re- 
move these  difficulties,  and  to  illustrate  the  phrases  in  question.  I 
pointed  out  the  examples  given  in  the  text;  and, at  his  request,  furnish- 
ed him  with  a  copy,  and  gave  him  full  permission  to  use  them.  It  is 
possible,  therefore,'  that  they  may  have  appeared  in  some  German 
work  which  I  have  not  seen";  and  I  consequently,  feel  it  right  to  men- 
lion  the  circumstance,  lest  I  should  be  suspected  of  taking  to  myself 
credit  for  any  other  person's  industry. 

§  Ap.  Home,  "Introduction,"  vol.  ii.  p.  444,  note. 
II  "  Note.s  on  Michaelis,"  vol.  i.  p.  487. 


344  LECTURE    THE    TENTH. 

addresses  the  saint ;—  ].o*/^i^?     «-Acn     ^^j.^^    u4.labi.AZ    ]];  ••a7i1| 

^AO    ]:!:i..y_l:^   5^«.]    >OajS)|7 "Take  care  lest  that  6c /MT^V/frfm 

thee  tpJiich  is  written,  *  Ephraim  is  a  heifer,'  etc."*  This  instance, 
however,  did  not  appear  to  Michaelis  satisfactory,  because  I  suppose 
it  was  unsupported  by  others,  and  on  account  of  its  admonitory  form.t 

The  field,  therefore,  may  be  considered  open,  and  worthy  to  oc- 
cupy the  attention  of  scholars.  Now,  though  it  may  appear  presump- 
tuous, I  think  I  have  it  in  my  power  to  solve  the  difficulty,  simply  by 
the  course  which  I  have  been  endeavoring  to  suggest  through  these 
Lectures,  by  the  prosecution,  however  feebly,  of  the  very  study  to 
which  it  belongs.  In  endeavoring  to  meet  it,  I  need  not  premise 
that  I,  by  no  means,  allow  any  validity  to  Michaelis's  arguments,  or 
mean  to  admit  that  the  quotations  in  St.  Matthew's  first  chapters  may 
not  be  proved  accurately  applicable  to  the  events  there  described. 
On  these  points,  there  is  very  much  to  be  said  ;  but  I  wish  to  waive 
the  long  investigation  into  which  they  would  lead  us,  and  simply  take 
up  the  question  upon  the  objector's  own  grounds,  and  prove  that, 
even  granting  all  that  he  assumes,  he  has  no  reason  for  rejecting  that 
portion  of  Scripture,  or  impugning  the  ins])iration  of  its  writer.  In 
other  words,  I  wish  to  show,  that,  even  if  those  texts  could  not  be  ap- 
plied to  certain  events,  otherwise  than  by  accommodation,  the  phrases 
which  introduce  them  will  easily  bend  to  that  e.xplanation,  and  so 
destroy  the  argument  drawn  from  their  force.  For,  I  will  show  you 
by  examples  from  the  earliest  Syriac  writers,  that  in  the  East  similar 
expressions  were  used  for  accommodating  Scriptural  phrases  to  indi- 
viduals, to  whom  the  writers  could  not  possibly  have  believed  theni 
primarily  or  originally  to  refer. 

1.  "  The  phrase  "  to  be  fulfilled"  is  so  used,  and  that  in  a  declar- 
atory form,  and  not  merely  as  in  the  instance  given  by  Wetstein. 
In  a  fuller  life  of  St.  Ephrem  than  the  one  which  he  quotes,  we  have 

this  remarkable   passage:  —  2j.liDUb    l^l^i^ii)   ..AOial^.:^   Z\i£i2:ikA.o 

.  1x0,,^^  «-j.!^  OCT  JL  J.i£>7 .  U J. j_j>a1^  ..tial^Qa  ^.^liO  "  And  in  Jiim 

teas  fulfilled  the  word  which  was  spoken  concerning  Paul  to  Ananias  : 
he  is  a  vessel  of  election  to  me. "J     The  author  is  here  speaking  of 

*  "  Assem.  B.  O,"  torn.  i.  p.  '35.     "Acta  S.  Ephr.  Oper."  torn.  ill.  p. 
36.     Wetstein  in  Matt,  i:  22. 
t  Vol.  i.  p.  214. 
t  "  St.  Ephrem  Oper."  Tom.  iii.  p.  26. 


SACRED    LITERATURE.  345 

St.  Ephrern,  and  clearly  expresses  himself,  that  the  words  which  he 
applies  to  him  were  really  spoken  of  another.  But  the  saint  himself, 
the  oldest  writer  extant  in  that  language,  uses  this  phrase  in  a  more 

remarkable  manner.     For  thus  he  speaks  of  Aristotle ; — tAcnal^i* 

oiZao]  j.'iQj.o.w^  ]ooi  |J.  "  In  him  joas  fulfilled  that  which  was 
written  concerning  Solomon  the  wise  ;  '  that  of  those  who  were  be- 
fore or  after,  there  has  not  been  one  equal  to  him  in  wisdom.'  "* 

2.  The  expression,  as  it  is  tvrittcn,  or  as  the  prophet  says,f  is 
used  precisely  in  the  same  manner.     St.  Ephrem  uses  it  manifestly 

to  introduce  a  mere  adaptation  of  a  scriptural  text. — ^j.ic 
J.AO  Xo'iDi   j^j|  t*-^^^  joil^j  ucii.b.:^')  ijija:^?    ]a1^v,   ]xii..^_bi, 

"  Those  who  are  in  error  have  hated  the  source  of  assistance :  as  it 
is  ivritten,  '  the  Lord  awoke  like  one  who  slept.'  "|  To  see  the  force 
of  this  application,  the  entire  passage  must  be  read.  I  pass  over 
some  less  decided  examples,^  and  hasten  on. 

3.  Even  the  strongest  of  all  such  expressions,  "  this  is  he  of 
whom  it  is  written,"  is  used  with  the  same  freedom  by  these  early 
oriental  writers.  In  the  Acts  of  St.  Ephrem,  which  I  have  more 
than  once  quoted,  it  is  so   applied.     For  example,  speakino-  of  the 

Saint  —  ili-^V^  \^h]->  ^a2|  ]iQJ?  ^xjo^q^zj  j-lof?  ajcn.    "This  is  he 

of  70 horn  our  Saviour  said,  *  1  came  to  cast  fire  upon  the  earth.'  "|1  In 
another  place  the  same  text  is  applied  to  him  by  St.  Basil  in  still  more 
definite  terms. ^ 

*  Serin,  i.  Tom.  ii.  ]>.  317.  f  Matt.  2:  6, 

t  Serm.  xxxiii.  adv.  Haeres.  Tom.  ii.  p.  513.  To  such  as  are  con- 
versant with  the  Syriac  language,  I  would  observe  that  the  Latin  ver- 
sion translates  the  word  [^^^  by  amentes,  whereas,  throughout  all  these 

sermons  it  means  ivanderers,  or  heretics.  Cf.  jip.  526,  527,  559,  etc. 
By  it  St.  Ephrem  seems  to  mean  the  Manicheans. 

§  For  instance,  in  the  Acts  of  St.  Ephrem,  p.  25,  where,  however, 
only  a  moral  precept  is  cited,  which  in  fact  does  not  occur  in  the  Bible. 
Again,  Tom.  ii.  p.  487,  where  "as  it  is  written,"  introduces  a  quotation. 

II  P.  38. 

H  P.  68.  He  exj)ressiy  says,  "  This  is  he  of  tohom  our  Saviour  said," 
etc.,  whereas    in   tlie  other   text,  the   words  in    italics  are    understood. 
Assemani,  the  translator  of  this  life,  renders   the  phrase  by  "  propterea 
ipsi  accommodatitm  iri  ilia  Domini  verba,  etc. 
44 


346  LECTURE    THE    TENTH. 

Still  further  to  confirm  these  illustrations,  I  will  observe,  that  the 
Arabs,  in  quoting  their  sacred  book,  the  Koran,  apply  it  in  this  man- 
ner to  passing  events.  I  will  give  you  one  or  two  instances  out  of 
many  which  I  have  noticed.  In  a  letter  from  Amelic  Alaschraf 
Barsebai  to  Mirza  Schahrockh,  son  of  Timur,  published  by  De  Sacy, 
we  have  these  words.  "  We,  indeed,  if  the  Most  High  had  wished 
it,  could  not  prevail  over  you  ;  but  lie  has  promised  us  victory  in  the 
venerable  book  of  God,  saying,  '  then  we  gave  you  the  advantage 
over  them.'  "*  Which  words  were  clearly  spoken  of  a  quite  differ- 
ent person.     The  following  example  approaches  more  to  the  phrases 

in  question  :  ^a!>  cJOtf  V>c  ^Vi  ^9  bSl\     \^>^  r^   »%*^f  VaJJ 

t^_0  •[  \/o  "  ^"^  resemble  the  Prophet,  when  he  says  ;  '  Never  did 
prophet  suffer  what  I  suffer.'  "f 

I  fear  lest  this  disquisition  may  have  proved  tedious  to  many  ;  if 
so,  I  will  only  request  them  to  consider  how  important  its  object  may 
well  appear.  For  it  is  directed  to  wrench  out  of  the  hands  of  rash 
scholars,  a  pretended  argument  for  rejecting  two  of  the  most  im- 
portant and  beautiful  chapters  of  gospel  history.  It  serves,  too,  as 
another  illustration,  of  how  continued  application  to  any  pursuit  is 
sure  to  obtain  possession  of  a  sufficient  clue,  to  unravel  the  difficulties 
drawn  from  its  lower  stages. 

Desultory  as  the  subjects  of  which  I  have  treated  may  appear, 
they  have,  I  trust,  presented  a  variety  of  points  illustrative  of  the  ob- 
ject pursued  in  these  Lectures.  In  every  one  of  the  members  which 
compose  the  direct  study  of  the  Bible,  we  have  seen  a  natural  on- 
ward progress  ;  and  in  every  instance  the  spontaneous  consequence  of 
that  progress  has  been  the  removal  of  prejudice,  the  confutation  of 
objections,  and  the  confirmation  of  the  truth.  I  will  only  add,  that 
the  persoHiil  and  practical  application  of  the  various  pursuits  which 
have  been  grouped  together  in  this  Lecture,  will  satisfy  any  one,  that 
even  in  that  confined  form,  they  have  the  same  power  of  develop- 
ment, and  the  same  saving  virtue.  Experience  has  long  since  satis- 
fied me,  that  every  text  which  Catholics  advance  in  favor  of  their 
doctrines  controverted  by  Protestants,  will  stand  those  rigid  tests  to 
which  modern   science   insists  a]x)n  submitting  every  passage  under 

*  De  Sacy,  "  Chrestoinathie  Arabc,"  1st  nd.  Arab,  text,  j).  2o(],  Vers. 
Toiri.  ii.  f).  ;W.j. 

t  Uiiml)t;i-r,  "  Aiilliolo;;ic  Ara!)e."     Paris,  1819,  p.  112. 


SACRED    LITERATURE. 


347 


discussion.     This,  liowever,  is  the  province  of  dogmatic  or  polemic 
theology,  and  therefore  must  not  be  intruded  upon  here. 

The  study  of  Gods  word,  and  the  meditation  upon  its  truths, 
surely  forms  our  noblest  occupation.  But  when  that  study  is  con- 
ducted upon  severe  principles,  and  with  the  aid  of  deep  research,  it 
will  be  found  to  combine  the  intellectual  enjoyment  of  the  mathema- 
tician, with  the  rapture  of  the  poet,  and  ever  to  open  new  sources  of 
edification  and  delight,  to  some  of  which  I  hope  to  open  you  a  way 
ia  my  next  discourse. 


LECTURE    THE    ELEVENTH. 


ORIENTAL    LITERATURE 


PART  II. 
PROFANE    STUDIES. 


Introductory  remarks.  Illustrations  of  particular  passages.  Collec- 
tions of  oriental  customs  and  ideas  from  travellers. — The  ijrowing 
nature  of  such  illustrations  exemplified  in  Gen.  44:  5,  15. — Difficul- 
ties raised  by  earlier  writers;  illustrations  furnished  bj?  later  authors. 
— Luke  2:  4,  supposed  to  be  not  conformable  to  any  known  law 
among  the  ancients  ;  difficulties  removed  by  a  passage  of  an  oriental 
author. — Geographical  elucidations  lately  made  by  Messrs.  Burton 
and  Wilkinson. — Philosophy  of  Asia.  General  remarks  on  the  con- 
firmation it  gives  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  Christian  faith,  by 
the  unity  of  its  conclusions  in  diffijrent  countries. — On  the  oriental 
philosophy. — Its  influence  on  the  Jewish  doctrines ;  Scriptural 
phrases  illustrated  by  Bendslen. — Sabian  doctrines  ;  their  use  in  ex- 
plaining some  parts  of  the  New  Testament. — Opinions  of  the  Samar- 
itans lately  ascertained,  remove  a  difficutly  in  John  iv. — Chinese 
school  of  Laotseu  ;  its  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  shown  to  be  probably 
derived  from  the  Jews. — Indian  philosoiihy  ;  excessive  antiquity  at- 
tributed to  it ;  opinions  of  the  moderns  ;  Colebrooke,  the  Windisch- 
manns,  Ritter.  Supposed  antiquity  of  the  Ezour  Vedam  ;  the  work 
discovered  to  be  modern. — Historical  restarches.  Serious  historical 
difficulty  in  Is.  xxxix.  removed  by  a  newly  discovered  fragment  of  Be- 
rosus. — Attack  on  the  origin  of  Christian  rites,  from  their  resem- 
blance to  the  Lamaic  worship.  Discovery,  from  oriental  works,  of 
the  modern  origin  of  that  system. 

In  my  last  Lecture,  I  treated  of  those  illustrations  of  the  sacred 
text  which  had  its  own  substance  for  their  object,  whether  in  the 


350  LECTURE    THE    ELEVENTH. 

letter  or  in  its  signification.  There  are  obviously  many  of  anotlv^r 
class,  which  oriental  studies  must  afford,  similar  to  those  which  we 
have  seen  furnished  by  other  sciences.  In  fact,  there  is  no  branch 
of  literature  so  rich  in  biblical  vindications  and  illustrations,  as  those 
studies  which  I  have  characterized  as  "  Profane  Oriental  Litera- 
ture." The  epithet  here  given  is  unfortunately  equivocal,  and  I 
wish  we  had  some  other  to  substitute  in  its  place.  The  term  '  pro- 
fane,' when  applied  to  studies  not  essentially  connected  with  sacred 
subjects,  seems  almost  to  cast  a  reproach  upon  them.  Being  often 
used  to  express  not  merely  the  absence  of  a  peculiarly  sacred  char- 
acter, but  the  addition  of  positive  unholiness,  and  applied  to  ex- 
press the  guilt  of  acts  otherwise  indifferent,  it  has  unfortunately  the 
same  force  in  the  minds  of  some,  when  applied  to  literary  pursuits. 
Among  the  errors  of  thought  which  the  use  of  equivocal  words  has 
introduced,  there  are  few  more  hurtful,  and  yet  few  more  common 
than  this.  In  my  concluding  lecture  I  may  have  occasion  to  notice 
the  opposition  made  at  all  times  by  many  to  human  learning  ;  for  the 
present  I  will  only  observe,  that  they  are  the  epithets  by  which  it  has 
been  distinguished  from  more  sacred  studies,  which  have  chiefly  led 
weak  minds  to  their  rash  decision.  The  names  of  secular,  or  human, 
or  still  more,  profane  learning,  have  in  reality  suggested  or  encour- 
aged the  abhorrence  which  such  men  have  felt  and  expressed  for  all 
but  theological  pursuits. 

These  terms,  however,  are  all  relative,  and  only  framed  thus 
strongly  to  exalt  the  other,  which  necessarily  excels  them,  as  all 
things  directed  to  the  spirit  and  its  profit,  must  surpass  whatever  is 
but  the  offspring  of  earth.  But  wisdom  and  knowledge,  wherever 
found,  are  gifts  of  God,  and  the  fruits  of  the  right  use  of  faculties  by 
him  given;  and  as  we  find  that  the  Christians  of  former  ages  scrupled 
not  to  represent  on  their  most  sacred  monuments  the  effigies  of  men 
whose  science  or  graceful  literature  had  adorned  the  world  even  in 
ages  of  paganism,  so  may  we  consider  the  learning  of  such  men  well 
worthy  of  a  place  among  the  illustrations  and  ornaments  of  the  holy 
religion  to  which  those  buildings  were  devoted. 

At  the  same  time,  therefore,  that  I  esteem  such  pursuits  most 
worthy  of  our  attention,  the  consideration  of  what  I  have  remarked 
leaves  me  no  scruple  in  placing  among  profane  literature,  such  illus- 
trations of  Holy  Writ,  as  may  be  found  in  oriental  writers  of  the 
most  venerable  character,  and  of  the  most  holy  minds.      For  I  use 


PROFANE    STUDIES.  351 

the  term  in  no  other  sense  than  as  a  conventional  distinctive  of  a  class 
of  learning  most  useful  and  most  commendable. 

I  shall  divide  the  subject  of  this  morning's  entertainment  into 
three  parts  ;  first,  T  will  treat  of  such  particular  illustrations  as  east- 
ern archajology  may  glean  in  the  East ;  secondly,  I  will  give  a  few 
instances  of  the  influence  which  our  growing  acquaintance  with  the 
philosophy  of  Asia  has  had  upon  the  vindication  of  religion  ;  and 
thirdly,  I  will  try  to  select  one  or  two  examples  of  the  use  to  be  made 
of  oriental  historical  records. 

The  first  of  these  classes  has  been  long  justly  popular  in  this 
country.  No  other  nation  has  sent  so  many  enterprising  travellers 
to  explore  the  East;  and  it  was  natural  to  expect  that  it  would  take 
the  lead  in  applying  the  results  of  their  observations,  which  became 
a  part  of  its  literature,  to  the  illustration  of  Scripture.  Accordingly, 
we  have  been  almost  overrun  with  collections  from  travellers,  of  man- 
ners, customs,  and  opinions  existing  in  Asia,  and  tending  to  throw 
some  light  upon  the  Biblical  narrative.  Often  the  examples  which 
follow  the  order  of  the  books  and  chapters  of  Scripture,  are  quite  un- 
necessary, sometimes  they  are  insufficient ;  on  all  occasions,  they  do 
not  possess  the  value  of  systematic  treatises  on  Scriptural  antiquities, 
in  which  the  results  are  digested,  and  compared  with  all  the  passa- 
ges on  which  they  seem  to  bear.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remark, 
that  whatever  advantage  such  compilations  may  present  to  religion 
and  its  sacred  volume,  is  necessarily  of  a  growing  character.  The 
mine  is  inexhaustible  ;  every  traveller  succeeds  in  discovering  some 
new  coincidence  between  the  ancient  and  modern  occupants  of  Asia, 
and  at  every  new  edition,  the  works  to  which  I  have  alluded  swell  in 
bulk,  and  increase  the  number  of  their  volumes.  Burder's  "  Orien- 
tal Customs  and  Literature,"  when  translated  by  Rosenmiiller  into 
German,  received  great  and  valuable  accessions,  which  have  in  their 
turn  been  translated,  and  added  to  the  original  work.  I  believe  I 
should  have  to  add  to  the  number  of  my  lectures,  were  I  to  offer  you 
the  gleanings  which  I  have  made  in  this  branch  of  literature,  after 
the  plentiful  harvest  of  my  predecessors.  Well  might  the  Oriental 
Translation  Committee  pronounce,  not  only  that  "the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures abound  in  modes  of  expression,  and  allusions  to  customs,  in 
many  cases  imperfectly  understood  in  Europe,  but  still  prevailing  in 
the  East,"  but  also,  that  many  additional  illustrations  might  be  ex- 
pected from  the  publication  of  more  oriental  authors.* 


*  "Report,"  Lond.  1829,  p.  7, 


352  LECTURE  THE  ELEVENTH. 

I  will  select  one  instance,  almost  at  random,  which  seems  to  ex- 
emplify the  increasing  nature  of  such  researches. 

In  Gen.  44:  o,  15,  mention  is  made  of  a  cup  in  which  Joseph  di- 
vined ;  of  course,  keeping  up  the  disguise  which  he  had  thought  it 
necessary  to  assume. — "  The  cup  which   you   have   stolen   is  that  in 

which  my  lord  drinketh,  and  in  which  he  is  wont  to  divine And 

he  said  to  them,  why  would  you  do  so?  know  ye  not  that  there  is  no 
one  like  me  in  the  science  of  divining?"  Now,  formerly  this  gave 
rise  to  such  a  serious  objection,  that  very  able  critics  proposed  an  al- 
teration in  the  reading  or  translation  of  the  word  ;  for  it  was  supposed 
to  allude  to  a  custom  completely  without  any  parallel  in  ancient  au- 
thors. "  Who,"  exclaims  Houbigant,  "  ever  heard  of  auguries  taken 
by  the  agency  of  a  cup?"*  Aurivillius  goes  still  further  : — "  I  ac- 
knowledge," says  he,  "  that  such  an  interpretation  might  be  proba- 
ble, if  it  could  be  proved  by  the  testimony  of  any  creditable  historian, 
that,  either  then  or  at  any  later  period,  the  Egyptians  used  this 
method  of  divination. "t  Burder,  in  the  first  edition  of  his  Oriental 
customs,  produced  two  methods  of  divining  with  cups,  given  by  Sau- 
rin  from  Julius  Serenus  and  Cornelius  Agrippa,  neither  of  them  very 
applicable  to  this  case. J  The  Baron  Silvestre  de  Sacy,  was  the  first 
to  show  the  existence  of  this  very  practice  in  Egypt  in  modern  times, 
from  an  incident  recounted  in  Norden's  travels.  By  a  singular  coin- 
cidence, Baram  Cashef  tells  the  travellers  that  he  had  consulted  his 
cup,  and  discovered  that  they  were  spies,  who  had  come  to  discover 
how  the  land  might  best  be  invaded  and  subdued. §  Thus,  we  see 
the  condition  complied  with  on  which  alone  Aurivillius,  half  a  cen- 
tury ago,  agreed  to  be  satisfied  with  the  sense  at  present  given  by 
the  text.  In  the  "Revue  des  deux  Mondes,"  for  August  J 833,  a 
very  curious  and  well  attested  instance  was  given  of  the  nse  of  the 
divining  cup,  as  witnessed  by  the  reporters  in  Egypt,  in  company 
with  several  English  travellers,  which  bears  a  character  highly  mar- 
vellous and  mysterious. 

But  so  far  from  its  being  any  longer  diflicult  to  find  a  single  in- 
stance of  this  practice  in  Egypt,  we  may  say,  that  no  species  of  di- 

*  Note  in  loc. 

f  "  Dissertationes  ad  Sacras  Literas  et  pliilologiam  orientaletu  per- 
tinentes,"    Gbllins;.  and  Laps.  1790,  p.  273. 

\  "Oriental  Customs,"  Lond.  1807,  vol.i.  p.  25. 

§  "  Chrestoinathie  Arabe,"  Paris,  ISOH,  vol.  ii.  p.  r»l3. 


PROFANE    STUDIES. 


353 


vining  can  be  proved  more  common  throughout  the  East.  For  in- 
stance in  a  Chinese  work,  written  in  179-2,  wliicli  contains  a  de- 
scription of  the  kingdom  of  Thibet,  among  tlie  methods  of  divining 
in  use  there,  this  is  given  :  "  Sometimes  they  look  into  a  jar  of  wa- 
ter, and  see  what  is  to  happen."*  The  Persians,  too,  seem  to  have 
considered  the  cup  as  the  principal  instrument  of  augury  ;  for  their 
poets  constantly  allude  to  the  fable  of  a  celebrated  divining  cup,  ori- 
ginally the  property  of  the  demigod  Dshemshid,  who  discovered  it  in 
the  foundations  of  Estakhar,  and  from  whom  it  descended  to  Solo- 
mon and  Alexander,  and  formed  the  cause  of  all  their  success  and 
glory.  Guignaut  adds  Joseph  to  the  list  of  its  possessors,  but  I  know 
not  on  what  authority.t  All  these  examples  suppose  the  augury  to  be 
taken  by  inspection.  I  will  add  another  example  of  a  different  man- 
ner. This  the  authority  of  the  oldest  Syriac  Father,  St.  Ephrem, 
who  tells  us,  that  oracles  were  received  from  cups,  by  striking  them, 
and  noticing  the  sound  which  they  emitted. t  Thus,  then  we  see  a 
growing  series  of  illustrations  of  a  passage  not  many  years  ago  con- 
sidered untenable,  from  its  being  unsupported  by  any. 

And  having  produced  this  last  example  from  a  class  of  oriental 
literature  too  much  neglected  at  present,  I  cannot  refrain  from 
giving  one  more  illustration  from  it,  of  a  difficulty  v/liich  T  believe 
has  not  as  yet  been  removed.  It  is  stated  in  Luke  2:  4,  that  Joseph 
was  obliged  to  go  to  Bethlehem,  the  city  of  David,  there  to  be  en- 
rolled and  taxed  with  his  virgin  spouse,  on  occasion  of  a  general  cen- 
sus. This  was  evidently  an  obligation  ;  and  yet  tliere  appears  no 
other  example  of  such  a  practice.  Lardner  proposes  this  difficulty, 
and  suggests  a  solution  from  Ulpian,  who  tells  us  that  all  should  be 
enrolled  where  their  estate  lies.  "Though  Joseph,"  says  he,  "  was 
not  rich,  yet  he  might  have  some  small  inheritance  at  or  near  Beth- 
lehem."§  He  was  not,  however,  himself  satisfied  with  this  answer  ; 
because,  as  he  observes,  had  Joseph  possessed  any  land  there,  {ager 
is  the  word  used  by  Ulpian,)  some  house  would  probably  have  been 
attached  to  it,  or  at  least  his  tenant  would  have  received  him  under 
his  roof     And  moreover,  the  reason  given  is,  "  hecattse  he  was  of  the 

*  "  Quelquesfois  lis  regardent  dans  nne  jatte  d'eau,  et  voient  ce  que 
doit  arriver."— '  Nouveau  Journal  Asiatique,"   Oct.  J829,  p.  261. 
t  "On  Crcuzcr,"  to.  i.  part.  i.  p.  312. 
\  "Opera  omnia,  torn,  i."  Syr.  el  Lat.  Rome,  1737,  p.  100. 
§  "  Lardner's  Works,"  Land.  1827,  vol.  i.  p.  281. 
4a 


351  LECTURE  THE  ELEVENTH. 

house  and  family  of  David.''  Lardner,  tiicreforc,  further  suggests, 
that  it  was  some  custom  of  the  Jews,  to  be  enrolled  in  tribes  and 
fauiilies  :  but  there  could  be  no  necessity  for  this  troublesome  method 
of  observing  it,  nor  has  it  been  shown  that  such  a  custom  ever  exist- 
ed. But  the  fact  is,  we  have  an  example  of  this  very  practice  in  the 
same  country  in  later  times.  Dionysius,  in  his  Chronicle,  tells  us, 
that  "  Abdalmelic  made  a  census  of  the  Syrians  in  1G92,  and  pub- 
lished a  positive  decree,  that  every  individual  should  go  to  his  coun- 
try, his  city,  and  his  father's  house,  and  be  enrolled,  giving  in  his 
name,  and  whose  son  he  was  ;  with  an  account  of  his  vineyards,  his 
oliveyards,  his  flocks,  his  children,  and  all  his  possessions."  This, 
he  adds,  was  the  first  census  made  by  the  Arabs  in  Syria.*  This  one 
instance  is  sufficient  to  take  away  all  strange  appearance  from  the 
circumstance  as  recorded  in  the  Gospel,  and  makes  it  unnecessary  to 
assign  a  reason  for  it. 

I  can  hardly  give  any  motive  for  allowing  these  instances  a  pre- 
ference over  many  others,  which  would  have  equally  shown,  how  this 
branch  of  oriental  pursuits,  the  inquiry  into  the  habits  and  state, 
physical  and  moral,  of  the  East,  goes  on,  so  long  as  it  is  pursued,  re- 
moving all  difficulties,  and  shedding  new  light  upon  Scriptural  nar- 
ratives. 

To  conclude  this  branch  of  my  subject,  I  will  notice  the  informa- 
tion lately  gained  upon  Scripture  geography  by  the  discoveries  in 
Egyptian  literature.  For  instance,  Mr.  Burton  has  made  us  ac- 
quainted with  the  Zoan  of  Numbers,  (13:22)  and  Ezckiel,  (30:14) 
the  liieroglyphic  name  for  which  he  has  discovered  and  published.! 
In  like  manner,  Mr.  Wilkinson  has  cleared  up  the  controversy  res- 
pecting the  No-Ammon,  or  No  of  Nahum,  (3:  8)  Jeremiah  (4o:  25) 
and  Ezekiel  (ib.);  for  he  has  proved  it  to  be  the  Egyptian  name  for 
the  Thebais.t  The  Septuagint  has  indeed  translated  it  by  Diospolis, 
tlie  ancieiw  uamr  of  Thebes  among  the  Grcpks.  In  fact,  the  name 
Thebes,  or  Thebfc,  is  sup|)osed  by  Champollion  to  be  the  Egyptian 
word  Tape,  i\ie  head  or  capital,  in  the  Theban  dialect.  The  He- 
brew name  No-Aminon,  is  purely  Egyptian,  and  signifies  the  posses- 
sion or  portion  of  the  God  Amun,  by  which  the  same  version  once 
renders  it  ptijlg  "^7//// on',  (Nah.  3:  8.)§ 

*  Asseniani,  "  IVihlioth.  Orientalis,"  vol.  ii.  p.  104. 
f  "  Exrcrpta  1  !i(>roglyiih."   No.  iv. 

I  f'nnumiuicated  liy  Sir  W.  Goll,  in  tiio  "Bulleliiio  dell'  Istituto,  di 
Corfis|»n!idcnz;i  arciioologica,"  Rome,  1829,  No.  i.v.  p.  104 — lOG. 

^  "Ilandbuch    der    bibliochcn    Altcrthlium.skundc,"   or  '■  Biblische 


PROFANE    STUDIES.  355 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  the  department  of  biblical  illustration 
on  which  I  have  so  long  dwelt,  has  been  etitirely  in  the  hands  of  such 
popular  writers  as  I  have  before  alluded  to.  On  the  contrary,  the 
natural  history  of  the  East  has  been  protbundly  studied,  since  the 
time  of  Bochart  and  Celsius,  by  Oedman  and  Forskal,  with  wonder- 
ful success;  the  manners  and  costumes  of  the  Jews  have  received  in- 
valuable light  from  Braun  and  Schroeder  ;  nay,  we  have  a  volume 
by  ByncBus,  replete  with  much  curious  erudition,  de  calnis  HchrtBo- 
rum,  on  the  shoes  of  the  Hebrews.  But  let  us  pass  forward  to  more 
important  subjects. 

The  philosophy  of  the  East  may  be  viewed  in  many  lights,  and 
in  each  reflects  differently  upon  sacred  truths.  We  may  simply  con- 
sider the  philosophy  of  different  nations  as  the  characterising  indica- 
tion of  their  mind,  as  that  distinctive  which,  in  reference  to  the  ope- 
rations of  their  understandings,  take  the  place  held  by  the  outward 
features  in  regard  to  their  characteristic  passions.  Every  national 
philosophy  must  necessarily  bear  the  impress  of  that  peculiar  system 
of  thought  which  nature  or  social  institutions,  or  some  other  modify- 
ing cause,  has  stamped  upon  the  mind  ;  it  will  be  mystical,  or  merely 
logical,  profound  or  popular,  abstract  or  practical,  according  to  the 
character  of  thought  prevalent  in  the  people.  The  experimental  phi- 
losophy which  we  owe  to  Bacon,  is  the  exact  type  of  the  habit  of 
thought  pervading  the  English  character,  from  the  highest  medita- 
tions of  our  sages  to  the  practical  reasoning  of  the  peasant.  The  ab- 
stracting and  contemplative,  half-dreaming  mysticism  of  the  Hindoo, 
is  no  less  the  natural  expression  of  his  habitual  calm  and  listlessness, 
the  flow  of  bright  deep  thought,  which  must  be  produced  in  one  who 
sits  musing  on  the  banks  of  his  majestic  streams.  Where  there  are 
many  sects,  we  may  rely  upon  most  of  them  professing  foreign,  and 
often  uncongenial,  doctrines.  Hence  arise  those  almost  contradic- 
tory appearances  in  some  parts  of  the  best  Greek  philosophies,  that 
admission  of  great  truths,  and  yet  the  weakness  of  proofs,  which  we 
meet  in  their  snblimest  writer. 

But  hence  it  follows,  that  when  we  see  all  the  philosophical  sys- 
tems of  nations  quite  distinct  in  character,  perfectly  unlike  each 
other  in  their  logical  processes,  arriving  at  the  same  consequences, 
on  all  great  points  of  moral  interest  to  man,  we  are  led  to  a  choice  of 


Geographic,  von  E.  F.  K,  Rosenmiiller,"  Ltifz.  1828,  Drittor  Band, 
p.  299. 


356  LECTUUE  THE  ELEVENTH. 

one  of  two  conclusions  ;  either  that  a  primeval  tradition,  a  doctrine 
common  to  the  human  species,  and  consequently,  given  from  the  be- 
ginning-, hns  flowed  down  to  us  through  so  many  channels  ;  or  else, 
that  these  doctrines  are  so  essentially,  so  naturally,  true,  that  the  hu- 
man mind,  under  every  possible  form,  discovers  and  embraces  them. 
Ancient  philosophers  concluded,  from  the  consent  of  mankind  in 
some  common  belief,  that  it  must  be  correct ;  and  thus  did  prove 
many  precious  and  important  doctrines.  By  the  deeper  study  of  the 
philosophy  of  many  nations,  v,e  have  advanced  the  force  of  this  rea- 
soning an  immcube  step  ;  for  we  now  can  tell  the  grounds  on  which 
they  received  them.  Had  we  met  one  system  in  which  the  future 
and  perpetual  existence  of  man's  soul  was  denied,  and  the  denial  sup- 
ported by  processes  of  reasoning,  conducted  on  principles  perfectly 
independent  of  foreign  teaching,  we  certainly  should  have  felt  before 
us  a  difliculty,  of  some  weight,  to  overcome.  But  when  we  find  the 
mysticism  of  the  Indian  arriving  at  the  same  conclusion  as  the  syn- 
thetic reasoning  of  the  Greek,  we  must  be  satisfied  that  the  conclu- 
sion is  correct.  In  the  portiojis  of  the  Aklilak  e  Naseri,  a  Persian 
work  upon  the  soul,  which  Col.  Wilks  has  translated,  all  the  ques- 
tions relating  to  that  portion  of  man  are  discussed  with  marvellous 
acuteness ;  and  though,  from  some  resemblance  to  the  Greek  philoso- 
phers, the  translator  thinks  the  reasoning  is  borrowed  from  them,* 
it  seems  to  me  that  the  turn  of  thought,  and  form  of  argumentation, 
display  a  decidedly  original  character. 

Thus  have  we  gained  an  additional  force  for  our  convictions  upon 
points  of  belief  essentially  necessary,  as  the  ground-work  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  still  further  developed  by  its  teaching.  But  there  are 
several  systems  of  Asiatic  y)hilosophy,  which  come  into  close  contact 
with  the  Scriptures,  from  their  being  alluded  to  in  it,  or  perhaps  at- 
tacked ;  and  which  being  known,  may  throw  considerable  light  upon 
particular  passages. 

The  principal  of  these  is  what  is  commonly  known  under  the 
name  of  the  onenfcl  philosophy.  This  consists  of  that  peculiarly 
mysterious  system  which  formed  the  basis  of  the  old  Persian  religion, 
and  from  which  the  earliest  sects  of  Christianity  sprung  up  ;  the  be- 
lief in  the  conflict  betu'een  opposite  powers  of  good  and  evil,  and  in 
the  existence  of  emanated  influences,  intermediate  between  the  di- 


*  "  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,"  vol.  i.  p.  514.  sefjrj.  Lond.  1827. 


PROFANE    STUDIES.  357 

Vine  and  earthly  natures  ;  and  the  consequent  adoption  of  mystical 
and  secret  terms,  expressive  of  the  hidden  relations  between  these 
different  orders  of  created  and  uncreated  beings.  This  philosophy 
pervaded  all  tW^^ast  :  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  its  influence 
was  felt  among  the  Jews  at  the  time  of  our  Saviour's  coming,  and 
that  in  particular  the  sect  of  Pharisees  held  much  of  its  mysterious 
doctrines.  It  penetrated  into  Greece,  affected  greatly  the  Pythago- 
rean and  Platonic  philosophies,  and  acted  on  the  people  through  the 
secret  religious  mysteries.  In  many  of  its  doctrines  it  approached  so 
near  to  the  truth,  that  the  inspired  writers  were  led  to  adopt  some  of 
its  terms  to  expound  their  doctrines.  Plence  it  is,  that  our  greater 
acquaintance  with  this  system  of  philosophy,  from  the  greater  atten- 
tion paid  to  it,  has  tended  to  confirm  and  illustrate  many  phrases  and 
passages  formerly  obscure.  For  instance,  when  Nicodemus  either 
understood  not,  or  affected  not  to  understand,  our  Lord's  expression 
that  he  must  be  "  born  again,"  we  should  be  rather  inclined  to  think 
such  an  expression  by  no  means  easy,  and  to  consider  the  censure  as 
severe;  "Art  thou  a  master  in  Israel,  and  understandest  not  these 
things?"*  But  when  we  discover  that  this  was  the  ordinary  figure 
by  which  the  Pharisees  themselves  expressed,  in  their  mystic  lan- 
guage, the  act  of  becoming  a  proselyte,  and  that  the  phrase  belongs 
to  that  philosophy,  and  is  used  by  the  Brahmins  of  such  as  join  their 
religion  ;t  we  at  once  perceive  how  such  an  obscure  phrase  should 
have  been  well  understood  by  the  person  to  whom  it  was  addressed. 
Bendsten  has  carefully  collected  such  ancient  inscriptions  as  contain 
mystical  allusions  drawn  from  this  hidden  philosophy,  and  has  pro- 
duced several  illustrations  of  phrases  in  the  New  Testament. |  It 
may  suffice  to  say,  that  such  expressions  as  light  and  darkness,  the 
flesh  and  the  spirit,  the  representation  of  the  body  as  a  vessel  or  tab- 
ernacle of  the  soul,  images  so  beautifully  adapted  for  expressing  the 
purest  doctrines  of  Christianity,  as  none  other  at  that  time  could  be, 
all  have  been  found  to  belong  to  this  philosophy,  and  have  thus  lost 
the  obscurity  wherewith  they  used  to  be  reproached. 

But  to  come  to  one  particular  sect  or  modification  of  this  system; 
a  curious  elucidation  has  been  obtained  of  a  difficult  portion  of  the 


*  John  3:  3. 

t  See   the  author's  "  Lectures  on  the  Real   Presence."  Lond.  1836, 
p.  95.     See  Wiivlischmann's  "  Philosophie,"  etc.  p.  558. 

\  In  the  "Miscellanea  Hafnensia,"  Tom.  j.  Copenhag.  1816,  p.  20. 


35S  LECTURK  THE  ELEVENTH. 

New  Testament,  by  our  acquaintance  with  a  sect  of  Gnostics  yet  ex- 
isting, but  of  whom  little  or  nothing  was  known  till  the  end  of  the 
last  century.  From  a  small  treatise,  of  no  great  celebrity,  published 
above  a  hundred  years  ago  by  F.  Ignatius  a  Jesuf*^  missionary  in 
Asia,  Europe  first  became  acquainted  with  a  semi-christian  sect,  set- 
tled chiefly  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bassora,  evidently  descended  from 
the  ancient  Gnostics,  but  having  a  peculiar  veneration  for  St.  John 
the  Baptist.*  They  are  called  Nasareans,  Sabians,  Mendeans,  or 
disciples  of  John.  The  last  is  the  name  they  give  themselves.  Evi- 
dence is  not  wanting  to  prove  that  they  have  existed  from  the  earliest 
ages  ;  and  the  whole  of  their  belief  is  grounded  upon  the  oriental 
philosophy,  the  system  of  emanations  from  the  Deity.  Prof.  Nor- 
berg  was  the  first  who  made  this  strange  religion  better  known,  by 
publishing,  not  many  years  ago,  their  sacred  book,  the  Codex  Adam, 
or  Codex  Nasargeus.t  It  is  written  in  a  peculiar  character  and  dia- 
lect of  very  corrupt  Syriac,  and  is  extremely  difficult  to  he  under- 
stood. Their  principal  work,  which  N(  rberg  so  much  desired  to  see 
published,  is  yet  inedited.  It  is  an  immense  roll  covered  ');!;  curi- 
ous figures,  and  is  called  their  Divan.  The  original  copy  is  in  the 
Museum  of  the  Propaganda  ;  from  this  I  have  had  two  fac-similes 
made,  whereof  one  is  in  my  possession,  and  I  have  brought  it  for 
your  inspection  ;  the  other  I  have  deposited  in  the  Library  of  the 
Royal  Asiatic  Society  in  London. 

It  had  been  well  known  that  St.  John,  in  his  writings,  entirely 
attacked  Gnostic  sects,  principally  those  known  by  the  name  of 
Ebionites,  and  Cerinthians.  This  circumstance  explained  many  ex- 
pressions otherwise  obscure,  and  led  us  to  understand  why  he  so  con- 
stantly insisted  upon  the  reality  of  Christ's  being  in  the  flesh.  It 
was  evident  that  the  first  chapter  of  his  gospel  contained  a  series  of 
aphorisms  directly  opposed  to  their  tenets.  For  instance,  as  these 
Gnostics  maintained  the  existence  of  many  iEons,  or  emanated 
beings  inferior  to  God,  one  of  which  they  called  "  the  Word,"  and 
another  "  the  only  begotten,"  another  "  the  light,"  etc.  ;  and  asserted 
the  world  to  have  been  created  by  a  malignant  spirit;  St.  John 
overthrows  all  these  opinions,  by  showing,  that  only  One  was  bom 


*  Ignatius  a  Jesu,  "  Nanalio  originis  et  errorum  Christianorum  S. 
Johannis." 

t  "  Codex  Nazareeijs  liber  Adami  appellatus."  Tom.  i.  Hafnise.     Na 
date. 


PROFANK    STUDIES.  359 

from  the  Father,  who  was  at  once  liglit,  tlio  word,  and  tlic  only  be- 
gotten, and  by  whom  all  things  were  made.* 

But,  there  were  other  things  in  this  sul)lime  prologue,  not  so 
easily  explained.  Why  is  the  inferiority  of  the  Baptist  so  much  in- 
sisted upon?  why  are  we  told  that  he  was  not  the  light,  hut  only  a 
witness  to  the  light,  and  why  is  this  thrice  repeated  ?  Why  are  we 
told  that  he  was  a  mere  man  ?  These  reiterated  assertions  must 
have  been  directed  against  some  existing  opinions,  which  required 
confutation  as  much  as  the  others:  yet  we  knew  of  no  sect  that 
could  appear  to  have  suggested  them.  The  publication  of  the  Sabian 
books  has,  to  all  appearance,  solved  the  difficulty. 

When  the  Codex  Nasarasus  was  first  published,  several  learned 
men  applied  its  expressions  to  the  illustration  of  St.  John's  gospel. 
The  evidence  for  this  application  was  at  first  considered  strong,t,but 
was  afterwards,  particularly,  if  I  remember  right,  by  Hug,  rejected 
as  of  small  weight.  Still,  on  looking  over  the  book,  I  think  we  can- 
not fail  to  be  struck  with  opinions,  manifestly  ancient,  which  seem 
exactly  kept  in  view  by  the  Apostle,  in  the  introduction  to  his  gospel. 
First,  the  marked  distinction  between  light  and  life;  secondly,  the 
superiority  of  John  the  Baptist  to  Christ  ;  thirdly,  the  identification 
of  John  with  "  the  light." 

The  first  of  these  errors  was  common,  perhaps,  to  other  Gnostic 
sects;  but  in  tiie  Codex  Nasaraeus,  we  have  the  two  especially  dis- 
tinguished as  different  beings.  In  it  the  first  emanation  from  God, 
is  the  king  of  light;  the  second,  fire;  the  third,  water;  and  the 
fourth,  life. t  Now,  this  error  St.  John  rejects  in  the  fourth  verse, 
where  he  says,  "  and  the  light  was  life."  The  second  error,  that 
John  was  superior  to  Christ,  forms  the  fundamental  principle  of  this 
sect.  Its  members  are  called  Mende  Jahia,  disciples  of  John,  from 
this  very  circumstance.  And  an  Arabic  letter  from  the  Maronite 
Patriarch  in  Syria,  published  by  Norberg,  tells  us  that  they  worship 
John  before  Christ, \^  whom  they  carefully  distinguish  from  "  the  life." 
In  the  third  place  they  identify  John  with  "  the  light."  These  two 
last  errors  will  be  at  once  brought  home  to  them  by  one  passage, 
which  I  take  without  seleciiun,  upon  opening  the  book.  "Going 
forward  and   coming  to  the  prison  of  Jesus,  the  Messiah,  I   asked, 

*  St.  Iri^iifEus  "  Adv.  Bceres."  lib.  i.  c.  i.  §  20. 

f  !\richaulis,  "  Introdurtion."     Vol.  iii.  pj).  28.5,  seqq. 

\  Xorherj:,  p.  8.  ■§  Notes  to  the  Preface. 


360  LECTURE    THE    ELEVENTH. 

wliose  place  of  confinement  is  this?  I  was  answered  ;  '  it  overshad- 
ows those  who  have  denied  the  life,  and  followed  the  Messiah.'  "* 
The  Messiah  is  then  supposed  to  address  the  narrator  in  these  words  : 
"  Tell  MS  thy  name,  and  show  us  thy  mark,  which  thou  receivedst 
from  the  water,  the  treasure  of  splendor,  and  the  great  baptism  of  tlie 
Light."  And  on  seeing  the  mark,  the  Messiah  adores  him  four 
times.t  After  this,  the  souls  that  are  with  him,  ask  permission  to 
return  into  the  body,  for  three  days,  that  they  may  be  baptized  in 
the  Jordan,  "  in  the  name  of  this  man  who  has  passed  above  him. "J 
Here,  then,  we  have  John  and  his  baptism  superior  to  Christ;  the 
Messiah  distinguished  from  "  the  ligiit,"  and  the  baptism  of  John, 
called  "  the  baptism  of  the  Light."  Now,  we  can  hardly  fail  to  ob- 
serve, how  pointedly  the  evangelist  co'iiidicts  every  one  o:  these 
blasphemous  opinions,  when  he  tells  us,  that  in  Christ  "  was  life  ;" 
that  John  "  was  not  the  light,  but  only  a  witness  to  it ;"  (vv.  7,  8) 
and  that  John  was  inferior  to  Christ,  according  to  his  own  testimony. 
And  on  this  point,  the  very  words  of  the  gospel  seem  selected  to  meet 
the  error.  "  John  beareth  witness  and  crieth  out,  saying  ;  '  this  was 
he  of  whom  I  spake,  he  that  shall  come  after  me  shall  be  preferred 
be/ore  me,  because  he  was  before  me.'  "  (v.  15.) 

That  the  opinions  of  this  strange  sect  have  been  much  changed 
in  the  lapse  of  ages,  we  have  every  reason  to  suppose,  but  their  con- 
formity to  the  Gnostic  system,  and  some  historical  evidence,  prove 
that  the  religion  is  not  modern  ;  indeed,  it  seems  to  have  sprung 
from  those  who  only  received  the  baptism  of  John.  At  any  rate, 
the  publication  of  these  documents,  and  our  belter  acquaintance  with 
this  sect,  has  shown  opinions  to  have  existed  among  the  Gnostics, 
exactly  corresponding  to  the  errors  condemned  by  St.  John.  Ex- 
pressions, which  before  were  unintelligible,  have  thus  become  clear  ; 
and  the  series  of  apparently  unconnected  propositions,  or  axioms, 
which  compose  his  proeme,  and  which  seemed  unnecessarily  to  insist 
upon  points  to  us  of  little  interest,  have  been  shown  to  point  at  blas- 
phemous doctrines  confuted  in  the  gospel. 

Another  example  of  a  difficulty  being  cleared  away,  by  our  be- 
coming acquainted,  in  modern  times,  with  the  opinions  of  an  oriental 
sect,  may  be  drawn  from  the  Samaritan  literature.  This  sect  sprung 
from  the  Jews,  in  part  at  least,  at  an  early  period  of  their  history  ; 
and  acknowledged,  as  is  well  known,  no  sacred  books  but  those  of 

*  Tom.  ii.  p.  9.  t  lb.  p.  11. 

I  lb.  p.  13.     "In  nomine  bujusviri  qui  te  preeteriit." 


PROFANE    STUDIES.  361 

Moses.  Their  religious  hatred  to  the  Jews  was  violent ;  and  as  they 
never  could  be  united  together  in  friendship,  so  does  it  appear  im- 
probable that  one  sect  would  have  ever  borrowed  opinions  from  the 
other.  In  the  fourth  chapter  of  St.  John,  a  Samaritan  woman  pro- 
fesses her  belief  that  a  Messiah  would  speedily  come  ;  (v,  25)  and 
afterwards  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  publicly  avow  the  same  ex- 
pectation, (vv.  39,  42.)  Does  not  this  seem  highly  improbable? 
For,  surely  the  pentateuch  alone  could  hardly  have  furnished  grounds 
for  so  rooted  and  general  a  belief  This  difficulty  increases  when 
we  reflect,  that  the  only  passage  in  those  books,  which  could  appear 
to  suggest  the  doctrine  with  sufficient  clearness,  is  not  interpreted  by 
them  of  the  Messiah.  I  allude  to  Deut.  18:  15  ;  "  The  Lord  thy 
God  shall  raise  up  unto  thee  a  prophet,  etc."  which  Gesenius  in  his 
essay  on  the  theology  of  the  Samaritans,  has  shown  they  do  not  apply 
at  all  to  his  coming.*  And  yet  we  have  now  every  evidence  that  we 
can  desire  upon  this  point.  For,  the  Samaritans,  who  are  reduced 
to  about  thirty  houses  in  Naplous,'yet  profess  to  expect  such  a  Mes- 
siah under  the  name  of  Hathab.  In  the  last  century,  a  correspond- 
ence was  entered  into  with  them,  for  the  purpose  of  clearing  up  this 
question  ;  it  was  published  by  Schnurrer,+  and  the  result  is  precisely 
such  as  we  could  desire,  to  confirm  the  gospel  narrative.  This  con- 
clusion has  been  still  further  illustrated  by  the  Samaritan  poems  in 
the  Bodleian  library,  which  Gesenius  has  published.  For  in  them 
the  expectation  of  a  Messiah  seems  clearly  expressed.  J  Thus,  then, 
is  an  important  illustration  obtained  by  our  modern  acquaintance 
with  the  doctrines  of  this  remnant  of  the  Samaritans,  for  a  passage 
otherwise  presenting  some  difficulty. 


*  "  De  Samaritanorum  theologia."     Halcc,  1822,  p.  45. 

t  "Eichhorns  Biblisches  Repertoriiim,"  ix.  Th.  S.  27.  There  had 
been  other  similar  correspondences  between  the  few  remaining  Samar- 
itans, aud  Scaliger,  Ludolf,  and  the  University  of  Oxford.  See  De 
Sacy,  "Memoire  sur  l'6tat  actuel  des  Samaritains,"  p.  47. 

fCannina  Samaritana  e  codicibus  Londinensibus  et  Gotlianis." 
Lips.  1824,  p.  75.  On  the  objections  made  by  several  reviewers, 
Gesenius  is  not  disposed  to  enforce  the  allusion  to  the  Messiah  in  this 
verse,  and  allows  that  it  may  be  differently  interpreted.  But,  knowing 
that  the  word  there  used,  Hathab,  "  the  convertor,"  is  the  Samaritan 
name  for  the  Messiah,  there  seems  no  reason  to  depart  from  his  origin- 
al interpretation.  At  any  rate,  his  commentary  places  our  proofs  of 
tjje  expectations  of  a  Redeemer  among  the  Samaritan?,  ujion  a  more 
secure  footing  than  it  had  before. 
46 


362  LECTURE  THE  ELEVENTH. 

Having  seen  the  influence  exercised  by  foreign  philosophy  upon 
the  exprerisions,  and  consequently  upon  the  explanation,  of  Scripture, 
let  us  turn  the  tables,  and  see  if  from  this  we  can  throw  any  light 
upon  the  philosophy  of  other  oriental  nations,  and  thereby  remove 
objections  made  against  our  religion ;  and  by  this  course,  we  shall 
return  to  the  oriental  philosophy,  from  which  we  have  somewhat 
wandered. 

An  extraordinary  resemblance  has  been  discovered  between  some 
of  the  most  mysterious  dogmas  of  Christianity,  and  expressions  found 
in  this  philosophy.  Some  traces  of  a  belief  in  a  Trinity,  you  are 
probably  aware,  may  be  found  in  Plato's  celebrated  epistle  to  Dion- 
ysius  of  Syracuse.  Philo,  Proclus,  Sallustius  the  philosopher,  and 
other  Platonists,  contain  still  clearer  indications  of  such  a  belief  It 
was  agreed,  that  it  could  only  be  derived  from  the  oriental  philoso- 
phy, in   which  every  other  dogma  of  Platonism  is  to  be  discovered. 

The  progress  of  Asiatic  research  placed  this  supposition  beyond 
controversy.  The  Oupnekhat,  a  Persian  compilation  of  the  Vedas, 
translated  and  published  by  Anquetil  Duperron,  contains  many  pas- 
sages in  still  clearer  unison  with  Christian  doctrines  than  the  hints  of 
the  Greek  philoso|)hers.  I  will  only  quote  two  from  the  digest  of 
this  work,  made  by  Count  Lanjuinais  : — "  The  word  o^  the  Creator 
is  itself  the  Creator,  and  the  great  Son  of  the  Creator." — "  Sat" 
(that  is,  truth)  "  is  the  name  of  God,  and  God  is  trabrot,  that  is, 
three  making  only  one."* 

From  all  these  coincidences,  nothing  more  ought  to  be  deduced, 
than  that  primeval  traditions  on  religious  doctrines  had  been  pre- 
served among  different  nations.  But  instead  of  this  conclusion 
being  drawn,  they  were  eagerly  seized  by  the  adversaries  of  Christ- 
ianity, and  used  as  hostile  weapons  against  its  divine  origin.  Dupuis 
collected  every  passage  which  could  make  the  resemblance  more 
marked,  not  even  neglecting  the  suspicious  works  of  Hermes  Trisme- 
gistus,  and  concluded  that  Christianity  was  only  an  emanation  of  the 
philosophical  school  which  had  flourished  in  the  East,  long  before  its 
divine  Founder  a[)peared.t 

But  if  one  did  borrow  this  doctrine  from  another,  it  mu.«t  now  be 
acknowledged,  that  the  very  research,  which  extended  still  further 


*  "Joiwnfil    Asiaiique,"  Par.  18'2.3,  torn.  iii.  pp.  15,83.     Tlie  name 
Oiqinckliat,  i.<  a  corruption  ol'tlio  Indian  I'panishad. 

•f  "  Orijiine  de  luus  les  Ciilte^."  Parity  I'an  iii.  vol.  v.  pp.  263,  seqq. 


PROFANR    STUDIES.  363 

this  connexion  between  the  different  philosophic  schools  of  tlie  East 
and  West,  has  discovered  the  stock  from  which  they  all  originally 
descended.  China,  too,  is  now  proved  to  have  possessed  its  Platonic 
school ;  and  the  doctrines  of  its  founder,  Laotseu,  bear  too  marked  a 
resemblance  to  the  opinions  of  the  Academy,  not  to  be  considered  an 
offspring  of  the  same  parent.  The  early  missionaries  had  presented 
the  public  with  some  extracts  from  his  writings,  and  some  account  of 
his  life.  The  former,  however,  were  incomplete,  the  latter  was 
mixed  with  fable.  To  Abel-Remusat  we  are  indebted  for  a  satisfac- 
tory and  highly  interesting  memoir  upon  both.*  Not  only  are  the 
leading  principles  of  Platonism  expressed  in  his  works,  but  verbal 
coincidences  have  been  traced  in  them  by  this  learned  orientalist, 
which  cannot  be  explained  without  admitting  some  connecting  link 
between  the  Athenian  and  Chinese  sages. t  The  doctrine  of  a 
Trinity  is  too  clearly  expounded  in  his  writings  to  be  misunderstood ; 
but  in  one  passage  it  is  expressed  in  terms  of  a  most  interesting  char- 
acter. 

"That  for  which  you  look,  and  which  you  see  not,  is  called  I: 
that  towards  which  you  listen,  yet  hear  not,  is  called  Hi  (the  letter 
H):  what  your  hand  seeks,  and  yet  feels  not,  is  called  Wei  (the 
letter  V.)  These  three  are  inscrutable,  and  being  united,  form  only 
one.  Of  them  the  superior  is  not  more  bright,  nor  the  inferior  more 
obscure This  is  what  is  called  form  without  form,  image  with- 
out image,  an  indefinable  Being  !  Precede  it,  and  ye  find  not  its 
beginning  ;  follow  it,  and  ye  discover  not  its  end."| 

It  is  not  necessary  to  comment  at  any  length  upon  this  extraordi- 
nary passage,  which  obviously  contains  the  same  doctrine  which  I 
have  quoted  from  other  works.  I  need  only  remark,  with  Abel- 
Remusat,  that  the  extraordinary  name  given  to  this  Triune  essence, 
is  composed  of  the  three  letters,  I  H  V  ;  for  the  syllables  expressed 
in  the  Chinese  have  no  meaning  in  that  language,  and  are,  conse- 
quently, representative  of  the  mere  letters.  It  is,  therefore,  a  foreign 
name,  and  we  shall  seek  for  it  in  vain  any  where  except  among  the 


*  "Memoire  snr  la  vie  et  les  opinions  de  Lao-tsen,  philosophe 
Chinois  du  vi.  siecle  avant  notre  ere,  qui  a  profess6  les  opinions  com- 
mun^ment  attribuees  k  Pythagori-,  h.  Platon,  et  a  leurs  disciples."  Paris, 
1823. 

f  See  pp.  24—27. 

t  P.  40. 


364  LECTURE    THE    ELEVKNTH. 

Jews.  Their  ineftable  name,  as  it  was  called,  which  we  pronounce 
Jehovah,  is  to  be  met,  variously  distorted,  in  the  mysteries  of  many 
lieathen  nations  ;  but  in  none  less  disfigured  tlian  in  this  passage  of 
a  Chinese  philosopher.  Indeed,  it  could  not  have  been  possibly  ex- 
pressed in  his  language  in  any  manner  more  closely  approaching  to 
the  original.* 

The  learned  French  orientalist  is  far  from  seeing  any  improba- 
bility in  this  etymology.  On  the  contrary,  he  endeavors  to  support  it 
by  historical  arguments.  He  examines  the  traditions,  often  disguised 
under  fal)les,  which  yet  exist  among  the  followers  of  Lao-tseu  ;  and 
concludes,  that  the  long  journey  which  he  made  into  the  West,  can 
only  have  taken  place  before  the  publication  of  his  doctrines.  He 
does  not  hesitate  to  suppose  that  his  philosophical  journey  may  have 
extended  as  far  as  Palestine  :  but  though  he  should  have  wandered 
no  further  than  Persia,  the  captivity  of  the  Jews,  which  had  just 
taken  place,  would  have  given  him  opportunities  of  communing  with 
tliem.t  Another  singular  coincidence  of  his  history,  is,  that  he  was 
nearly  contemporary  with  Pythagoras,  who  travelled  into  the  East  to 
learn  the  same  doctrine  ;  and  perhaps  brought  to  his  own  country 
the  same  mysteries. 

With  these  conclusions  of  Abel-Remusat,  authors  agree  of  no 
mean  name,  whether  we  consider  this  a  question  of  philosophy  or 
philology.  Windischmann,  whom  I  have  before  quoted,  and  of 
whom  I  shall  have  occasion  again  to  speak,  seems  to  consider  the 
grounds  given  by  Abel-Remusat  for  his  opinion,  as  worthy  of  great 
consideration.^  Klaproth,  in  like  manner,  defends  his  interpretation 
against  Pauthier's  strictures  ;  observing  that,  though  he  does  not 
think  it  probable  that  the  name   Jehovah  is  to  be  found  in  Chinese, 

*  lub)  is  probahiy  tli<*Greek  foiin  approaching  nearest  to  the  true 
proJUMiciiUion  of  tiie  llelirevv  name.  Even  pronouncing  the  Chinese 
word  according  to  iis  sylla!)les,  I-lii-wei,  we  have  a  nearer  ai)proach  to 
the  Helirew  le-ho-wa,  as  the  oriental  Jews  rightly  pronounce  it,  than 
in  ilie  Chinese  w^onl  Clii-li-sii-iu-sii,  to  its  original  Chnstiis. 

\  "  Ef^ectiveiiient,  si  i'on  vcut  examiner  les  choses  sans  prejug^,  il 
n-y-a  pas  d'iiivraisemliiaiice  a  supposer,  qii'un  j)liilosophe  Chiiiois  ait 
voyag6,  lies  le  vi^  siecie  avant  notre  ere,  dans  la  Perse  ou  dans  la 
Syrie,"  p.  13.  One  tradiiion  among  liis  followers  is,  that,  before  his 
birth,  his  soul  had  wandered  into  the  kingdoms  west  of  Persa. 

I  "Die  Philosophie  im  Fertgang  der  Weltgeschichle,"  Erst.  Th. 
Bonn.  18^7,  p.  404. 


PROFANE    STUDIES. 


365 


lie  sees  no  impossibility  in  the  idea,  and  maintains  that  his  learned 
friend's  interpretation  has  not  been  solidly  ensued.* 

This  instance,  renders  it  sufficiently  probable,  that,  if  any  con- 
nexion be  admitted  between  the  doctrines  delivered  to  the  Jews,  and 
those  which  resemble  them   in  other  ancient  nations,  these  derived 
them  from  the  depositories  of  revealed  truths.     It  satisfies  us,  that  in 
other  instances  similar  communications  may  have  taken  place  ;    and 
there  is  an  end  to  the  scoffing  objections  of  such  writers  as  I  before 
quoted,  that  Christian  dogmas  were  drawn  from  heathen  philosophy. 
Let  us  now,  after  these  partial  applications,  look  at  the  general 
progress  made  by  one  branch  of  research  in  oriental  philosophy,  which 
long  used  to  be  employed  as  a  formidable  weapon  against  Scripture. 
You  will  remember  how  the  Hindoo  astronomy  and  chronology,  exag- 
gerated to  an  excessive  degree,  were  found  to  have  come  down  wonder- 
fully in  their  pretensions,  and  that  I  reserved  for  this  place,  the  exami- 
nation into  the  age  of  philosophical  literature  in  India.     I  need  not  say 
that  the  unbelievers  of  the  last  century,  did  not  confer  a  more  reason- 
able antiquity  on  those  sacred  booksof  the  Indians,  wherein  are  con- 
tained their  philosophical  and  religious  systems,  and  which  are  well 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Vedas  :  in  fact  so  extravagant  an  antiqui- 
ty was  attributed  to  them,  that  the  writings  of  Moses  were  repre- 
sented as  modern  works  in  comparison  with  them.      It  must,  there- 
fore, be  a  matter  of  some  interest  to  ascertain,  how  far  this  opinion 
has  been  confirmed  or  confuted,  by  the  great  progress  made  in  our 
acquaintance  with  Sanskrit  literature. 

The  first  consideration  which  must  strike  us,  is,  that  works  of 
this  character  are  the  most  easy  to  invest  with  appearances  of  age  ; 
since  a  certain  simplicity  of  manner,  and  mysticism  of  thought,  will 
lead  the  mind  to  attribute  to  them,  an  antiquity  which  cannot  be 
tested,  as  in  the  other  branches  of  literature  or  science,  by  dates  or 
scientific  observations.  But,  at  the  same  time  we  may  further  re- 
mark, that  when  other  portions  of  a  nation's  literature  have  been 
proved  in  spite  of  high  pretensions,  to  be  comparatively  modern,  any 
other  class,  which  shared  their  unmerited  honors,  may  also,  with 
great  show  of  justice,  be  made  partaker  of  their  degradation,  and 
condemned  to  aspire  no  higher  than  its  associates.  Thus,  therefore, 
the  moral  philosophy  of  the  Hindoos,  having  been  considered  a  part 

*  "M^nioire  sur  I'origine  et    la   propagation   de   la   doctrine   du 
Tao."  p.  29. 


366  LKCTURE    THE    ELEVENTH. 

of  the  very  ancient  literature  of  India,  may  well,  in  part  at  least,  yield 
to  those  investigations  which  have  deprived  the  rest  of  its  fancied 
antiquity. 

But  specific  researches  have  not  been  wanting;  and  they  present 
much  more  detailed  and  striking  results.  And  first,  let  us  take  the 
extreme  most  favorable  to  our  opponents.  The  authority  of  Cole- 
brooke  will  be  considered  perfectly  competent  to  decide  questions 
connected  with  Sanskrit  literature;  and  he  certainly  has  never 
shown  a  disposition  to  underrate  its  importance  and  value.  Now, 
he  takes  as  the  basis  of  his  calculations,  the  astronomical  knowledge 
displayed  in  the  Vedas ;  and  concludes,  from  such  data  as  it  presents, 
that  they  were  not  composed  earlier  than  fourteen  hundred  years  be- 
fore Christ.*  This,  you  will  say,  is  a  great  antiquity  ;  but,  after  all, 
it  does  not  go  back,  by  nearly  two  hundred  years,  to  the  age  of 
Moses,  and   the  time  when  the   arts  had   reached  their  maturity  in 

Egypt. 

There  is  a  more  recent  investigation  into  this  question,  which 
seems  to  me  still  more  remarkable  for  its  results,  no  less  than  inter- 
esting from  the  character  of  its  author.  This  is  Dr.  Frederick  Win- 
dischmann,  whom  I  have  a  real  delight  in  calling  my  friend,  not 
merely  on  account  of  his  brilliant  talents,  and  his  profound  acquaint- 
ance with  Sanskrit  literature  and  philology,  but  far  more  on  account 
of  qualities  of  a  higher  order,  and  of  a  more  endearing  character, 
and  for  virtues  which  will  be  one  day  an  ornament  to  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal state  to  which  he  has  devoted  his  future  life.  Free  from  the  re- 
motest idea  of  either  exaggerating  or  diminishing  the  antiquity  of 
these  books,  which  he  has  minutely  studied,  he  has  ingeniously  col- 
lected all  the  data  which  they  afford  for  deciding  their  true  age. 
Now,  what  strikes  us  particularly  in  his  investigation,  is,  how  mani- 
festly the  struggle  of  Sanskrit  philologers  now  is  to  prevent  their  fa- 
vorite literature  being  depressed  too  low,  and  how,  instead  of  claim- 
ing, on  its  behalf,  in  the  spirit  of  older  writers,  an  unnatural  term 
of  ages,  they  contend,  with  eagerness,  to  have  it  raised  to  a  reasona- 
ble period  before  the  Christian  era.  The  course  of  argument  fol- 
lowed by  my  amiable  young  friend,  is  simply  this.  The  Institutes 
of  Menu  appear,  from  internal  evidence,  to  have  been  drawn  up  be- 
fore the  custom  of  self-immolation  was  prevalent,  at  least  completely, 
throughout  the  peninsula  of  the  Ganges.     As  we  learn  from  Grecian 


*  "Asiatic  Researches,"  vol.  vii.  p.  284. 


PROFANE    STUDIES.  367 

writers  of  the  time  of  Alexander,  that  this  rite  was  then  practised, 
this  work  must  have  been  composed  anterior  to  that  age.  Now  the 
Institutes  suppose  the  existence  of  the  Vedas,  which  are  tlierein 
quoted,  and  said  to  have  been  composed  by  Brahmah.*  The  argu- 
ment as  thus  stated,  does  injustice  to  the  great  acquaintance  mani- 
fested by  the  young  author  with  the  minutiajof  the  language  and  the 
contents  of  these  sacred  volumes.  Every  position  is  supported  by  a 
profusion  of  erudition,  which  few  can  fully  appreciate.  The  same 
must  be  said  of  the  remainder  of  his  arguments,  which  principally 
consist  in  proving  by  philological  disquisitions,  interesting  only  to  the 
initiated,  that  the  style  of  the  Vedas  is  much  more  ancient  than  that 
of  any  other  work  in  the  language. t  Still  the  conclusions  to  which 
he  comes  are  no  ways  definite  ;  they  allot  a  high  antiquity  to  the  Ve- 
das, but  not  such  as  can  startle  the  most  apprehensive  mind. 

After  doing  so  little  justice  to  this  learned  author,  I  fear  it  is  less  in 
my  power  to  render  a  proper  tribute  to  the  labors  of  his  father, 
whose  reputation  in  Europe,  as  a  philosopher,  must  raise  him  above 
the  necessity  of  any  preliminary  remarks  from  me  ;  especially  as  in 
making  them,  I  should  certainly  appear  to  be  carried  away  by  my 
feelings  towards  him,  as  an  admiring  and  revering  friend.  The 
work  of  this  extensive  and  profound  scholar,  which  I  have  already 
quoted  to-day,  has  arranged,  in  the  most  scientific  and  complete  man- 
ner, all  that  we  know  of  Indian  philosophy.  He  does  not  so  much 
consider  it  chronologically,  as  inquire  into  its  internal  and  natural 
development,  and  endeavor  to  trace  through  every  part  of  the  sys- 
tems which  compose  it,  the  principles  which  animated  it,  and  perva- 
ded all  its  elements.  Now,  in  this  form  of  investigation,  which  re- 
quires at  once  a  vast  accumulation  of  facts,  and  an  intellectual  ener- 
gy, that  can  plunge  into  their  chaos,  and  separate  the  light  from  the 
darkness,  Windischmann  has  been  beyond  all  other  writers,  success- 
ful. The  epochs  of  the  Brahminic  system,  he  examines  by  the  doc- 
trines and  principles  which  they  contain  ;  and  his  results  are  such 
as,  while  they  attribute  great  antiquity  to  the  Indian  books,  bring 
them  forward  as  confirmatoiy  evidence  of  what  is  described  in  the 
inspired  records.     For  the  earliest  epoch  or  period  of  Brahminic  phi- 


*  "Froderici  Hour.  Hug.  Windisciirrianni  Sancara  sive  de  iheolo- 
gmnenis  Vedanlicorum."  Bonnee,  1833,  p.  52. 

\.    Pp.  58,  seqq. 


368  LECTUKE  THE  ELEVENTH. 

losophy,  exhibits,  according  to  him,  the  exact  counterpart  of  the  pa- 
triarchal times  as  described  in  the  Pentateuch.* 

But  there  is  another  author  of  deserved  reputation  among  the  his- 
torians of  philosophy,  who  is  far  from  being  disposed  to  admit  the 
claims  or  the  arguments,  advanced  by  orientalists  in  favor  of  this 
high  antiquity.  Ritter,  professor  in  the  University  of  Berlin,  has 
sifted,  with  great  acuteness,  all  that  has  been  advanced  on  its  be- 
half The  astronomical  reasonings,  or  rather  conjectures  of  Cole- 
brooke,  he  rejects,  as  not  amounting  to  any  positive  or  calculable 
data  ;t  and  he  is  inclined  to  concede  very  little  more  force  to  the  argu- 
ments drawn  from  the  apparent  antiquity  of  Indian  monuments,  or 
the  perfection  of  the  Sanskrit  language.  For,  he  observes,  the  taste 
for  collbssal  monuments  is  not  necessarily  so  ancient,  seeing  that 
some  have  been  erected  in  comparatively  modern  days ;  and  lan- 
guage receives  its  characteristic  perfection  often  at  one  moment,  and 
cannot  form  a  sure  criterion  of  antiquity,  unless  relatively  considered 
by  epochs  discoverable  within  itself|  The  entire  reasoning  pur- 
sued by  Ritter,  tends  more  to  throw  down  the  supposed  antiquity  of 
Indian  philosophy,  than  to  build  up  any  new  theory.  However,  his 
conclusion  is,  that  the  commencement  of  true  systematic  philosophy 
must  not  be  dated  further  back  than  the  reign  of  Vikramaditja,  about 
a  century  before  the  Christian  era.§ 

Before  quitting  the  subject  of  Indian  philosophical  works,  I  will 
give  you  an  example  of  the  facility  with  which  men,  who  took  pride 
in  being  called  unbelievers,  swallowed  any  assertion  which  seemed 
hostile  to  Christianity.  In  the  last  century,  an  Indian  work,  ex- 
tremely Christian  in  its  doctrines,  was  published  by  Ste.  Croix,  un- 
der the  title  of  the  Ezour  Vedam.\\  Voltaire  pounced  upon  it,  as  a 
proof  that  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  were  borrowed  from  the  hea- 
thens, and  pronounced  it  a  work  of  immense  antiquity,  composed 
by  a  Brahmin  of  Seringham.^  Now,  hear  the  history  of  this  mar- 
vellous work. 

*  "  Die  Philosophic  iin  Forigang  der  Weltgeschichte."  Zweiter 
Buch,  pp.  690,  seqq. 

t  "  Goschichte  der  Philosophie,"  1  Th.  Hamburg,  1829,  p.  60. 

I  Page  62.  §  Pp.  120,  124. 

II  "Ezour  VedaiM,  on  ancien  commentaire  du  Vedam."  Yverdun, 
172e. 

H  "Siecle  ile  Louis  XV." 


PROFANF,    STUDIES. 


369 


When  Sir  Alex.  Johnston  was  Chief  Justice  in  Ceylon,  and  re- 
ceived a  commission  to  draw  up  a  code  of  laws  for  the  natives,  he 
was  anxious  to  consult  the  best  Indian  works,  and,  among  the  rest, 
to  ascertain  the  genuineness  of  the  Ezour  Vedam.  He,  therefore, 
made  diligent  search  in  the  southern  provinces,  and  inquired  at  the 
most  celebrated  pagodas,  particularly  that  of  Seringham,  but  all  in 
vain.  He  could  learn  no  tidings  of  the  Brahmin,  nor  of  the  work 
which  he  was  said  to  have  composed.  Upon  his  arrival  at  Pondi- 
cherry,  he  obtained  permission  from  the  governor.  Count  Dupuis,  to 
examine  the  manuscripts  in  the  Jesuits'  library,  which  had  not  been 
disturbed  since  they  left  India.  Among  thetn  he  discovered  the 
Ezour  Vedam,  in  Sanskrit  and  French.  It  was  diligently  examined 
by  Mr.  Ellis,  principal  of  the  College  of  Madras;  and  his  inquiry  led 
to  the  satisfactory  discovery,  that  the  original  Sanskrit  was  composed 
in  1621,  entirely  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  Christianity,  by  the 
learned  and  pious  missionary,  Robert  De  Nobilibus,  nephew  of  Card. 
Bellarmin,  and  near  relative  to  Pope  Marcellus  II.* 

From  philosophy,  we  may  now  proceed  to  examine  what  has  been 
done  for  religion  by  the  progress  of  oriental  history,  and  I  shall  con- 
tent myself  with  one  or  two  examples. 

The  thirty-ninth  chapter  of  Isaiah  informs  us,  that  Merodach- 
Baladan,  king  of  Babylon,  sent  an  embassy  to  Ezekiah,  king  of 
Judah.  This  king  of  Babylon  makes  no  other  appearance  in  sacred 
history  ;  and  even  this  one  is  attended  with  no  inconsiderable  diffi- 
culty. For,  the  kingdom  of  the  Assyrians  was  yet  flourishing,  and 
Babylon  was  only  one  of  its  dependencies.  Only  nine  years  before, 
Salmanassar,  the  Assijrian  monarch,  is  said  to  have  transported  the 
inhabitants  of  BafiyZott  to  other  parts  ;t  and  Manasses,  not  many 
years  after,  was  carried  captive  to  Babylon  by  the  king  o{  Assyria-X 
Again,  the  prophet  Micheas,  about  this  very  period,  speaks  of  the 
Jews  being  carried  away  to  Babylon,  while  the  Assyrians  are  men- 
tioned as  the  enemies  whom  they  have  principally  to  fear.§ 

All  these  instances  incontestably  prove,  that  at  the  time  of  Eze- 
kiah Babylon  was  dependent  on  the  Assyrian  kings.  Who,  then, 
was  this  Merodach-Baladan,  king  of  Babylon  ?     If  he  was  only  gov- 


*  "  Asiatic  Researches,"  vol.  xiv.     «  British  Catholic  Colonial  Intel- 
ligencer," No,  ii.  Lond.  1834,  p.  163. 

t  2  (4)  Reg.  7:  24.  \  2  Chrou.  33:  11. 

§  Micali  4:  10,    cf.  v.  .5,  G. 
47 


370  LKCTURE  THE  ELEVENTH. 

ernor  of  that  city,  how  could  he  send  an  embassy  of  congratulation 
to  the  Jewish  sovereign,  then  at  war  with  his  liege  lord  ?  The  ca- 
non of  Ptolemy  gives  us  no  king  of  this  name,  nor  does  his  chronol- 
ogy appear  reconcileable  with  sacred  history. 

In  this  d;irl<ness  and  doubt  we  must  have  continued,  and  the  ap- 
parent contradiction  of  this  text  to  other  passages  would  liave  re- 
mained inexplicable,  had  not  the  progress  of  modern  oriental  study 
brought  to  light  a  document  of  the  most  venerable  antiquity.  This 
is  nothing  less  than  a  fragment  of  Berosus,  preserved  in  the  chronicle 
of  Eusebius.  The  publication  of  this  work,  in  a  perfect  state,  from 
its  Armenian  version,  first  made  us  acquainted  with  it  ;*  and  Gesen- 
ius,  whom  I  have  so  often  quoted  as  opposed  to  us  in  opinion,  I  have 
now  the  p!e:isure  of  citing,  as  the  author  to  vvhose  ingenuity  we  owe 
its  application. t 

This  interesting  fragment  informs  us,  that  after  Sennacherib's 
brother  had  governed  Babylon,  as  Assyrian  viceroy,  Acises  unjustly 
possessed  himself  of  the  supreme  command.  After  thirty  days  he 
was  murdered  by  Merodach-Baladan,  who  usurped  the  sovereignty 
for  six  months,  when  he  in  his  turn  was  killed,  and  succeeded  by 
Elibus.  But  after  three  years,  Sennacherib  collected  an  army,  gave 
the  usurper  battle,  conquered  and  took  him  prisoner.  Having  once 
more  reduced  Babylon  to  his  obedience,  he  left  his  son  Assordan,  the 
Essarhaddon  of  Scripture,  as  governor  of  that  city. 

There  is  only  one  apparent  discrepancy  between  this  historical 
fragment  and  the  Scripture  narrative;  for  the  latter  relates  the  mur- 
der of  Sennacherib,  and  the  succession  of  Essarhaddon,  before  Me- 
rodach-Baladan's  embassy  to  Jerusalem. |  But  to  this  Gesenius  has 
well  replied,  that  this  arrangement  is  followed  by  the  prophet,  in 
order  to  conclude  the  history  of  the  Assyrian  monarch,  which  has  no 
further  connexion  with  his  subject,  so  as  not  to  return  to  it  again. 

By  this  order  also,  the  proi)hecy  of  his  murder  is  more  closely 
connected  with  the  history  of  its  fulfdment.^  But  this  solution, 
which  supposes  some  interval  to  have  elapsed  between  Sennacherib's 
return  to  Nineveh  and  his  death,  is  rendered  probable  by  the  words 
of  the  text  itself,  — "  He  went  and  returned,  and  abode  in  Nineveh; 
and  it  came  to  pass,"  etc. ;  and  moreover  becomes  certain  from  chro- 


*  "Eusebii  Chronicon,"  Vcmt.  18J8,  torn.  i.  p.  42. 

t  "  Comnif.-ntar  iiber  den   Jesaia,"  Erst.  Tli.  2.  Ablh.  pp.  999,  seqq. 

I  IsiiiaJj  37:  38-  §  lb.  v.  7. 


PROFANE    STUDIES.  371 

nological  arguments.  For  it  is  certain,  that  Sennacherib's  expedi- 
tion into  Egypt  must  have  been  made  in  liis  first  or  second  year ; 
(714  B.  c.)  since  the  twentieth  chapter  of  Isaiah  mentions  Sargon  as 
reigning  just  before  that  event.  (716.)  Now,  according  to  Berosus, 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  above  quoted  fragment,  Sennacherib  reigned 
eighteen  years  before  he  was  murdered  by  his  sons.  He  must,  there- 
fore, have  survived,  by  many  years,  his  return  to  Nineveh.*  The 
account  of  Berosus,  that  the  Babylonian  revolt  happened  in  the  reign 
of  Sennacherib,  is  thus  noways  at  variance  with  the  sacred  text ;  and 
this  only  difficulty  being  once  removed,  the  fragment  clears  up  every 
possible  objection  to  its  accuracy. 

For  we  have  it  perfectly  explained  how  there  was  a  king,  or 
rather  a  usurper,  in  Babylon,  at  a  time  when  it  was  in  reality  a  pro- 
vincial city  of  the  Assyrian  empire.  Nothing  was  more  probable, 
than  that  Merodach-Baladan,  having  seized  the  throne,  should  en- 
deavor to  unite  himself  in  league  and  amity  with  the  enemies  of  his 
master,  against  whom  he  had  revolted.  Ezekiah,  who,  no  less  than 
himself,  had  thrown  off  the  Assyrian  yoke,t  and  was  in  powerful 
alliance  with  the  king  of  Egypt,  would  be  his  first  resource.  No 
embassy,  on  the  other  hand,  could  be  more  welcome  to  the  Jewish 
monarch,  who  had  the  common  enemy  in  his  neighborhood,  and 
would  be  glad  to  see  a  diversion  made  in  his  favor,  by  a  rebellion  in 
the  very  heart  of  that  enemy's  kingdom. |  Hence  arose  that  ex- 
cessive attention  which  he  paid  to  the  envoys  of  the  usurper,  and 
which  so  offended  the  prophet  Isaiah,  or  rather  God,  who  through 
him  foretold,  in  consequence,  the  Babylonian  captivity.  § 

Another  instance  of  the  advantage  which  the  progress  of  oriental 
historical  research  may  bring  to  matters  of  religious  interest,  is  af- 
forded us  by  the  light  lately  thrown  upon  the  religious  worship  of 
Thibet.  When  Europe  first  became  acquainted  with  this  worship,  it 
was  impossible  not  to  be  struck  with  the  analogies  it  presented  to 
the  religious  rites  of  Christians.  The  hierarchy  of  the  Lamas,  their 
monastic  institutes,  their  churches,  and  ceremonies,  resembled  ours 
with  such  minuteness,  that  some  connexion  between  the  two  seemed 

*  "  Gesenius,"  p.  1002,  of.  the  Table,  2  Th.  p.  560. 

t  2  (4)  Reg.  18:  7. 

I  From  what  has  been  said  in  the  text,  it  appears  probable  that  the 
revolt  in  Babylon  took  place  during  Sennacherib's  expedition  against 
Judea  and  Egypt. 

§  Isaiah  39:  2,  5. 


.'J72  LKCTCHE    THK    ELKVKNTH. 

necessarily  to  have  existed.  "  The  early  missionaries  were  satisfied 
with  considering  Lamaism  as  a  sort  of  degenerate  Christianity,  and 
as  a  remnant  of  those  Syrian  sects  which  once  had  penetrated  itito 
those  remote  parts  of  Asia."* 

But  there  have  been  others  who  have  turned  this  resemblance  to 
very  different  purposes.  "  Frequent  mysterious  assertions  and  sub- 
dued hints,  in  the  works  of  learned  men,"  says  a  lamented  orientalist, 
to  whose  memoir  on  this  subject  I  shall  have  to  refer  just  now,  "  led 
many  to  doubt  whether  tlie  Laraaic  theocracy  was  a  remnant  of 
Christian  sects,  or  on  the  contrary,  the  ancient  and  primitive  model, 
on  which  were  traced  similar  establishments  in  other  parts  of  the 
world.  Such  were  the  views  taken  in  the  notes  to  Father  D'Andra- 
da's  Journey,  to  the  French  translations  of  Thunberg  and  of  the 
Asiatic  Rcsearrhts,  and  in  many  other  modern  works  where  irreli- 
gion  has  sought  to  conceal  itself  under  a  superficial  and  lying  eru- 
dition."! "  These  resemblances,"  says  Malte-Brun,  "  were  turned 
into  arguments  against  the  divine  origin  of  Christianity."!  In  fact 
we  find  these  analogies  affording  matter  for  peculiar  merriment  to 
Volney.<5> 

At  first  these  objections  were  only  met  by  negative  answers.  It 
was  well  argued  by  Fischer,  that  no  writer  anterior  to  the  thirteenth 
century,  gives  a  hint  of  the  existence  of  this  system,  nor  could  any 
proof  be  brought  of  its  antiquity.  Cut  it  had  been  the  fashion  to  at- 
tribute an  extravagant  date  to  ail  the  institutions  of  central  Asia,  upon 
the  strength  of  ])lausible  conjecture.  The  venerable  age  given  to 
this  religious  establishment,  was  in  perfect  accordance  with  Bailly's 
scientific  hypotheses  regarding  the  same  country,  and  formed  a 
natural  counterpart  to  the  romantic  system  which  made  the  moun- 
tains of  Siberia  or  the  steppes  of  Tartary,  the  cradle  of  philosophy. 
Since  that  period  the  languages  and  literature  of  Asia  have  made  a 
wide  step ;  and  the  consequence  has  been,  the  thorough  confutation 
of  these  extravagant  hypotheses  from  the  works  of  native  writers. 

Abel-Remusat  is  once  more  the  author  to  whom  we  are  indebted 
for  this  valuable  exposition.     In  an  interesting  memoir,  he  has  made 

*  Abel-RemiisHr,  "Apercu  d'un  Metiioire  intitule  Reflierc-he« 
rhroiioloKiques  .«ur  i'ori^rine  de  la  iiier.'UThie  Larnaique,"  reprinted  in 
the  "  IVlelnngcs  Asiatiques,"  Paris,  1825,  vol.  i.  p.  J29. 

t  II).  Note  2.     "  Melanjres,"  p.  132. 

I  "  Precis  dc  la  Geographio  iiiiivorsellc."'  P<xm,  1812,  vol.  iii.  p.  581. 

§  "  Ruliics."     Pmis,  nm,  p.  428. 


rUOKANE    STUDIES. 


373 


us  acquainted  with  a  valuable  fragment  preserved  in  the  Japanese 
Enajrlopccdia,  and  containing  the  true  history  of  the  Lamaic  hierar- 
chy. Without  this,  we  should  perhaps  have  been  forever  left  to 
vague  conjectures  ;  with  its  assistance  we  are  able  to  confute  the  un- 
founded, though  specious,  dreams  of  our  assailants.  The  god  Bud- 
dha was  originally  supposed  to  be  perpetuated  upon  earth,  in  the 
person  of  his  Indian  patriarchs.  His  soul  was  transfused  in  succes- 
sion, into  a  new  representative  chosen  from  any  caste;  and  so  confi- 
dent was  the  trustee  of  his  divinity,  that  he  possessed  an  amulet 
against  destruction,  that  he  usually  evaded  the  sufferings  of  age  by 
ascending  a  funeral  pile  whence,  like  the  phojnix,  he  hoped  to  rise 
into  a  new  life.  In  this  state  the  god  remained  till  the  fifth  century 
of  our  era,  when  he  judged  it  prudent  to  emigrate  from  southern 
India,  and  fix  his  residence  in  China.  His  representative  received 
the  title  of  preceptor  of  the  Tcingdom;  but  only  added,  like  the  later 
khalifs  at  Bagdad,  a  religious  splendor  to  the  court  of  the  celestial 
empire. 

In  this  precarious  condition  the  succession  of  sacred  chiefs  was 
continued  for  eight  more  centuries,  till,  in  the  thirteenth,  the  house 
of  Tchingkis-khan  delivered  them  from  their  dependance,  and  in- 
vested them  with  dominion.  Voltaire  has  said,  that  Tchingkis-khan 
was  too  good  a  politician  to  disturb  the  spiritual  kingdom  of  the 
Grand  Lama  in  Thibet  ;*  and  yet,  neither  did  a  kingdom  tlien  ex- 
ist in  Thibet,  nor  did  the  high  priest  of  Shamanism  yet  reside  there, 
nor  was  the  name  of  Lama  yet  an  appellation.  For,  it  was  the 
grandson  of  the  conqueror  thirty-three  years  after  him,  who  first  be- 
stowed sovereignty  on  the  head  of  his  religion  ;  and,  as  the  living 
Buddha  happened  to  be  a  native  of  Thibet,  that  country  was  given 
h.im  for  his  government.  Thus  was  the  mountain  of  Pootala,  or 
Botala,t  made  the  capital  of  this  religious  kingdom,  and  the  terra 
Lama,  which   signifies  a  priest,  first  applied  as  a  distinctive  title  to 

its  ruler. 

This  account  of  the  origin  of  the  Lamaic  dynasty,  accords  yjer- 
fectly  with  another  interesting  document  lately  brought  before  the 
public.  This  is  a  description  of  Thibet,  translated  from  the  Chinese 
into  Russian,   by  the  Archi-mandrite,  F.  Hyacinth  Titchourinsky  ;j: 

*  "  Pliilosophie  de  i'Histoire  ;  Essiii  sur  les  Moeurs,"  Ahel-Remu- 
sat,  p.  1:^7. 

f  See  tlie  "  Noiiveau  Journal  Asialique."   Qd.  1829,  p.  273,  note  I. 
\  St.  rclcrsburgli,  1828. 


374  LECTURE  THE  ELEVENTH. 

and  I'rom  tlie  Russian  into  French,  with  corrections  upon  the  origin- 
al, by  Julius  Klaproth.*  From  this  document  we  learn  thatTching- 
kis-khan  overrun  that  country,  and  established  a  government  which 
comprised  Thibet  and  its  dependencies.  The  emperor  Khoubilai 
seeing  the  difficulty  of  governing  this  distant  country,  devised  a 
method  for  rendering  it  submissive,  which  was  conformable  to  the 
usages  of  the  people.  "  He  divided  the  country  of  the  Thou-pho 
into  provinces  and  districts;  appointed  officers  of  different  degrees, 
and  subjected  them  to  the  authority  of  the  Ti-szu  (preceptor  of  the 
emperor.)  At  that  time  Bhdchhah  or  Pagha,  a  native  of  Sarghia, 
in  Thibet,  held  this  office.  At  the  age  of  seven  years  he  had  read 
all  the  sacred  books,  and  comprehended  their  most  sublime  ideas, 
for  which  reason  he  was  called  the  spiritual  child.  In  1260  he  re- 
ceived the  title  of  king  of  the  great  and  precions  law,  and  a  seal  of 
oriental  jasper.  Besides  these,  he  was  invested  with  the  dignity  of 
chief  of  the  yellow  rcligioti.  His  brothers,  his  children  and  descen- 
dants, have  enjoyed  eminent  posts  at  court,  and  have  received  seals 
of  gold  and  oriental  jasper.  The  court  received  Bhachbah  with  dis- 
tinction, entertained  towards  him  a  superstitious  faith,  and  neglected 
nothing  which  could  contribute  to  make  him  respected. "f 

At  the  time  when  the  Buddhist  patriarchs  hrst  established  them- 
selves in  Thibet,  that  country  was  in  immediate  contact  with  Chris- 
tianity. Not  only  had  the  Nestorians  ecclesiastical  settlements  in 
Tartary,  but  Italian  and  French  religious  men  visited  the  court  of 
the  Khans,  charged  with  important  missions  from  the  Pope,  and  St. 
Lewis  of  France.  They  carried  with  them  church  ornaments  and 
altars,  to  make,  if  possible,  a  favorable  impression  on  the  minds  of  the 
natives.  For  this  end,  they  celebrated  their  worship  in  presence  of 
the  Tartar  princes,  by  whom  they  were  yjermitted  to  erect  chapels 
within  the  precincts  of  the  royal  palaces.  An  Italian  Archbishop, 
sent  by  Clement  V.,  established  his  see  in  the  capital,  and  erected  a 
church,  to  which  the  faithful  were  summoned  by  the  sound  of  three 
bells,  and  where  they  beheld  many  sacred  pictures  painted  on  the 
walls.t 

Nothing  was  easier  than  to  induce  many  of  the  various  sects 
which  crowded  the  Mongul  court  to  admire  and  adopt  the  rites  of 

*  In  the  "Nouveau  Journal  Asiatique,"  ^'lug.  and  Oct.  1829. 

t  lb.  August,  p.  119. 

X  Ahel-R^musat,  p.  138.     Compare  Assemani,  ivf.  cit. 


PROFANE    STUDIES.  375 

this  religion.  Some  members  of  the  imperial  house  secretly  em- 
braced Christianity,  many  mingled  its  practices  with  the  profession 
of  their  own  creeds,  and  Europe  was  alternately  delighted  and  dis- 
appointed by  reports  of  imperial  conversions  and  by  discoveries  of 
their  falsehood.*  It  was  such  a  rumor  as  this,  in  reference  to  Mang- 
hu,  that  caused  the  missions  of  Rubriquis  and  Ascellino.  Surround- 
ed by  the  celebration  of  such  ceremonies,  hearing  from  the  am- 
bassadors and  missionaries  of  the  West,  accounts  of  the  worship  and 
hierarchy  of  their  countries,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  religion  of  the 
Lamas,  just  beginning  to  assume  splendor  and  pomp,  should  have 
adopted  institutions  and  practices  already  familiar  to  them,  and  al- 
ready admired  by  those  whom  they  wished  to  gain.  The  coinci- 
dence of  time  and  place,  the  previous  non-existence  of  that  sacred 
monarchy,  amply  demonstrate  that  the  religion  of  Thibet  is  but  an 
attempted  imitation  of  ours. 

It  is  not  my  province  to  follow  the  learned  academician  in  the 
later  history  of  this  religious  dynasty.  It  has  continued  in  depend- 
ance  on  the  Chinese  sovereigns  till  our  days,  at  one  and  the  same 
time  revered  and  persecuted,  adored  and  oppressed.  But  its  claims 
to  antiquity  are  forfeited  forever,  and  its  pretensions  as  a  rival,  still 
more  as  the  parent  of  Christianity,  have  been  fully  examined  and  re- 
jected. 

I  have  prolonged  my  disquisition  so  far,  that  I  must  forego  the 
many  reflections  which  its  subject  might  well  suggest.  But  it  would 
be  unjust  to  take  leave  of  it  without  alluding  to  the  proud  pre-emi- 
nence which  our  country  is  taking  in  the  prosecution  of  these  studies  ; 
and  if  our  education  have  not  qualified  us,  like  our  continental  neigh- 
bors, for  such  deep  research  into  the  abstruser  parts  of  Asiatic  litera- 
ture, we  are  at  least  learning  to  contribute  those  vast  means  which 
Providence  has  placed  at  our  disposal,  towards  bringing  to  light 
much  which  otherwise  would  have  remained  concealed.  It  would, 
indeed,  be  disgraceful  to  us,  if,  in  after  ages,  the  history  of  all  our 
colonies  should  present  to  the  inquiring  philosopher,  only  pages  ruled 
into  balances  of  imports  and  exports,  and  statements  of  annual  re- 
turns to  our  national  coffers ;  or,  if  the  annals  of  our  mighty  empire 
in  India,  should  present  nothing  better  than  a  compound  establish- 
ment of  commercial   and   military   agents,  passing  through  varied 

*  "  Assemaui  Biblioth.  Orient."  Tom.  ill.  Par.  ii.  ]).  480,  seqq.  "  Di 
Marco  Polo  e  degli  altri  viaggiatori  Veneziani  pii\  illustri  Dissertarzoni 
del  P.  Ab.  (afterwards  Cardinal)  Zurla."   Ven.  1818.  vol.  i.  p.  287. 


376  LECTURE  TII3  ELEVENTH. 

scenes  of  mercantile  wnrfaresaml  kingly  speculations.  It  is,  indeed, 
an  honor  to  our  national  character,  and  the  greatest  proof  of  its  moral 
energies,  that  so  much  has  heen  done  by  those  whose  professions 
seemed  necessarily  at  variance  with  literary  and  scientific  pursuits; 
and  I  know  not  whether  the  public  discredit  will  not  be  hidden  by 
the  honor  reflected  from  the  personal  merit  of  so  many  illustrious 
individuals.  For  posterity  will  not  fail  to  observe,  that  while  the 
French,  in  their  Egyptian  expedition,  sent  scientific  and  literary 
men,  to  accompany  their  army,  and  bring  home  the  monuments  of 
that  country,  England  has  needed  not  to  make  such  a  distinction  ; 
but  found  among  those  who  fought  her  battles  and  directed  her 
military  operations,  men  who  could  lay  down  the  sword  to  take  up 
the  pen,  and  record  for  us  every  interesting  monument,  with  as  much 
sagacity  and  learning,  as  though  letters  had  been  their  sole  occupa- 
tion.* But  still  there  is  a  hope  of  a  higher  national  feeling  ;  and 
the  foundation  under  royal  patronage  of  the  Committee  for  the  trans- 
lation of  oriental  works  has  already  greatly  increased  our  stock  of 
oriental  lore.  It  has  interested  in  these  pursuits,  those  who 
otherwise  could  hardly  have  been  led  to  patronize  them  ;  it  has 
cheered  many  a  scholar,  who  otherwise  would  have  drooped  in  silent 
obscurity  ;  and  it  has  encouraged  many,  who  otherwise  would  not 
have  felt  the  necessary  strength, — 

"  Eoam  tentare  fidem,  populosque  bibentes 
Euphratem — 

Meilorum  penetrare  domos,  Seythiosqiie  recessus 
Arva  super  Cyri  Chaldseique  ultima  regni, 
Quae  rapidus  Ganges,  et  qua  Nyssseus  Hydaspes 
Ac-cedunt  peiago." 

(Lucan.  viii.  213.) 

*  The  autlior's  lamented  friend,  Colonel  Tod,  was  among  the  num- 
ber. 


LECTURE    THE    TWELFTH 


CONCLUSION 


Object  of  tliis  Lecture. — Character  of  the  confirmatory  Evidence  ob- 
tained through  the  entire  course,  arising  from  the  variety  of  tests  to 
which  the  truth  of  rehgion  has  been  submitted. — Confirmed  from 
the  nature  of  the  facts  examined,  ami  of  the  authorities  employed. — 
Auguries  thence  resulting  for  the  future. — Rehgion  deeply  interested 
in  the  progress  of  every  science. — Opponents  of  this  opinion.  First, 
timid  Christians  ;  confutation  of  them  by  the  ancient  Fathers  of  the 
Church.  Second,  the  enemies  of  religion,  in  former  and  in  later 
times. — Duty  of  ecclesiastics  to  apply  to  study,  with  a  view  of  meet- 
ing all  objections  ;  and  of  all  Christians,  in  proportion  to  their  ability. 
— Advantages,  pleasure,  and  method  of  such  pursuits. 

I  HAVE  now  accomplished  the  task  on  which  I  entered,  encour- 
aged by  your  kindness.  I  promised  to  pass  through  the  history  of 
several  sciences,  and  to  prove  by  that  simple  process,  how  their  pro- 
gress has  ever  been  accompanied  by  the  accession  of  new  light  and 
splendor  to  the  evidences  of  Christianity.  I  promised  to  treat  my 
subject  in  the  most  unostentatious  manner,  to  avoid  such  exemplifi- 
cations as  had  already  found  their  way  into  elementary  books  upon 
the  subject,  and  to  draw  my  materials,  as  much  as  possible,  from 
works  which  were  not  directed  to  a  defence  of  Christianity. 

And  now  having,  to  the  best  of  my  small  ability,  discharged  my 
duty  towards  you,  it  may  be  given  us  to  rest  a  little,  and  look  back 
upon  the  course  we  have  followed  ;  or,  like  those  who  have  journeyed 
together  awhile,  sit  down  at  the  end  of  our  travel,  and  make  a  com- 
mon reckoning  of  what  we  have  therein  gained.  Our  road  may 
have  seemed  in  part  to  lie  over  barren  and  uninteresting  districts;  I 
have  led  you  through  strait  and  toilsome  ways,  and  perhaps  some- 
'  48 


378  LECTURE  THE  TWELFTH. 

times  have  bewildered  and  perplexed  you  ;  but  if,  while  we  have 
kept  company,  you  have  to  complain  of  having  found  but  an  unskil- 
ful guide,  he  in  his  turn  may  perchance  rejoin,  that  he  has  found  but 
too  much  encouragement  to  prolong  his  wanderings,  and  too  much 
indulgence  to  have  easily  discovered  his  going  astray.  But  there 
has  been  sufficient  variety  at  least  in  the  objects  which  have  passed 
under  our  observation,  to  make  compensation  for  the  labors  of  our 
journey  ;  and  we  have  throughout  it  kept  one  great  point  in  view, 
which  sooner  or  later  could  always  bring  us  back,  to  our  right  track, 
and  give  a  unity  of  character,  and  uniformity  of  method,  to  our  most 
devious  wanderings.  And  by  looking  for  one  moment  upon  this 
again,  we  shall  be  able,  in  a  few  moments,  to  run  over  the  road 
through  wliich  our  course  hath  led  us. 

And  first,  I  may  naturally  be  asked,  what  addition  I  consider 
myself  to  have  made  to  the  evidences  of  Christianity.  Now,  to  this 
question  I  should  reply  with  the  most  measured  reserve.  I  hold 
those  evidences  to  be  something  too  inwardly  and  deeply  seated  in 
the  lieart,  to  have  their  sum  increased  or  diminished  easily  by  the 
power  of  outward  considerations.  However  we  may  require  and  use 
such  proofs  of  its  truths,  as  learned  men  have  ably  collected,  when 
reasoning  with  the  opponents  of  Christianity,  I  believe  no  one  is 
conscious  of  clinging  to  its  sublime  doctrines  and  its  consoling  prom- 
ises, on  the  ground  of  such  logical  demonstration  ;  even  as,  an  able 
theorist  shall  show  you  many  cogent  reasons,  founded  on  the  social 
and  natural  laws,  why  ye  should  love  your  parents,  and  yet  both  he 
and  you  know  that  not  for  those  reasons  have  you  loved  them,  but 
from  a  far  holier  and  more  inward  impulse.  And  so,  when  we  once 
have  embraced  true  religion,  its  motives  or  evidences  need  not  longer 
be  sought  in  the  reasonings  of  books  ;  they  become  incorporated  with 
our  holiest  affections;  they  result  from  our  finding  the  necessity  for 
our  happiness,  of  the  truths  they  uphold  ;  in  our  there  discovering 
the  key  to  the  secrets  of  our  nature,  the  solution  of  all  mental  pro- 
blems, the  reconciliation  of  all  contradictions  in  our  anomalous 
condition,  the  answer  to  all  the  solemn  questions  of  our  restless  con- 
sciousness. 

Thus  is  religion  like  a  plant,  which  drives  its  roots  into  the  cen- 
tre of  the  soul ;  having  in  tliem  fine  and  subtile  fibres,  that  pierce 
and  penetrate  into  the  solidest  frame-work  of  a  well-built  mind,  and 
strong  knotty  arms  that  entangle  themselves  among  the  softest  and 
purest  of  our  feelings.     And   if  without,  it  also  put  forth  shoots  and 


CONCLUSION'.  379 

tendrils  innumerable,  wherewith  as  with  hands,  it  apprehends  and 
keeps  hold  of  mundane  and  visible  objects,  it  is  rather  for  their  ben- 
efit and  ornament  than  from  any  want  of  such  support ;  nor  does  it 
from  them  derive  its  natural  and  necessary  vitality.  Now,  it  is  with 
this  outward  and  luxurious  growth,  that  our  husbanding  liaih  been 
chiefly  engaged,  rather  than  with  its  hidden  foundations  and  roots; 
we  have,  perhaps,  somewhat  extended  its  beneficial  connexions  ;  we 
have  sometimes  wound  it  round  some  decayed  and  neglected  rem- 
nant of  ancient  grandeur,  we  have  stretched  it  as  a  garland  to  some 
vigorous  and  youthful  plant,  and  mingled  the  fruits  of  its  holiness 
with  less  wholesome  bearing,  and  we  have  seen,  how  there  is  a  come- 
liness and  grace  given  to  both,  by  the  contact,  how  it  niay  cast  an 
interest  and  an  honor,  and  a  beauty  over  what  else  were  useless  and 
profane.  And  we  may  also,  by  this  partial  tilling,  have  given  to  the 
plant  itself,  some  additional  energy  and  power  to  strengthen. 

In  other  words,  these  lectures  have  been  mainly  directed  to  watch 
the  relation  between  the  evidences  of  Christianity  and  other  pursuits, 
to  trace  the  influence  which  the  necessary  progress  of  these  must 
have  upon  the  illustration  of  the  former.  With  the  true  internal 
proofs  of  the  Christian  religion  we  have  not  dealt;  but,  by  removing 
objections  against  the  external  form  of  manifestation  in  which  this 
religion  appears,  and  against  the  documents  in  which  its  proofs  and 
doctrines  are  recorded,  and  against  many  of  the  specific  events  there- 
in registered,  we  may  in  some  measure  hope,  that  the  native  force  of 
those  grounds  of  evidence  will  be  something  increased  and  fitted  for 
receiving  a  more  powerful  development  in  our  minds.  This  consid- 
eration admits  of  many  different  views,  and  leads  the  way  to  many 
even  more  important  conclusions,  which  will  form  the  subject  of  this 
my  last  address.  And  first,  I  will  say  a  few  words  upon  the  direct 
application  of  what  has  been  hitherto  treated,  to  the  general  eviden- 
ces of  Christianity,  and  to  the  vindication  of  those  sacred  documents 
whereby  the  principal  evidences  are  authentically  enforced. 

The  great  diflference  between  specious  error,  and  a  system  of 
truth,  is,  that  the  one  may  present  certain  aspects,  under  which  if 
viewed,  it  gives  no  appearance  of  fault ;  it  is  like  a  precious  stone 
that  has  a  flaw,  but  which  may  be  so  submitted  to  the  eye,  that  the 
play  of  light,  aided  by  an  artful  setting,  may  conceal  it,  but  which, 
when  only  slightly  turned,  and  viewed  under  another  angle,  discov- 
ers its  defect.  But  truth  is  a  gem  which  need  not  be  enchased, 
which,  faultless  and  cloudless,  may  be  held  up  to  the  pure  bright 


380 


LECTURE    THE     TWELFTH. 


light,  on  any  side,  in  any  direction,  and  will  every  where  display  the 
same  purity,  and  soundness,  and  beauty.  The  one  is  an  impure  ore, 
that  may  resist  the  action  of  several  re-agents  brought  to  act  upon  it, 
but  in  the  end  yields  before  one  of  them ;  the  other  is  as  annealed 
gold,  which  defies  the  power  of  every  successive  test.  Hence,  the 
more  numerous  the  points  of  contact  which  any  system  presents  to 
other  orders  of  intellectual  or  scientific  research,  the  more  op- 
portunities it  gives  of  assaying  its  worth  ;  and  assuredly,  if  it  no  ways 
suffer  by  their  continued  progress  towards  perfection  on  different 
sides,  we  must  conclude,  that  it  hath  so  deep  a  root  in  the  eternal 
truth,  as  that  nought  created  can  affect  its  certainty.  Nothing  has 
been  oftener  attempted  than  the  forgery  of  literary  productions,  but 
nothing  has  been  more  unfortunate.  Where  the  author,  like,  per- 
haps, Synesius,  has  confined  himself  to  philosophical  speculation, 
which  may  have  been  the  same  in  any  age,  it  may  be  more  difficult 
to  decide  on  the  imposture.  But  where  history,  jurisprudence,  man- 
ners, or  other  outward  circumstances,  enter  into  the  plan  of  the  work, 
it  is  almost  impossible  for  it  to  succeed  in  long  defeating  the  ingenu- 
ity of  the  learned.  The  most  celebrated  literary  frauds  of  modern 
times,  the  history  of  Formosa,  or,  still  more,  the  Sicilian  code  of 
Vella,  for  a  time  perplexed  the  world,  but  were  in  the  end  dis- 
covered. 

Now,  such  has  been  the  object  and  tendency  of  our  investigation, 
to  examine  the  different  phases  which  revealed  religion  presents, 
from  the  reflected  light  of  so  many  various  pursuits  ;  to  see  what  are 
its  a.spects  under  the  influence  of  such  diversified  powers,  and  thus 
ascertain  how  far  it  is  capable  of  resisting  the  most  complicated  as- 
say, and  defying  the  most  obstinate  and  most  unfriendly  examination. 
And  surely  we  may  say,  that  no  system  has  ever  laid  itself  open  more 
completely  to  detection,  if  it  contained  any  error,  than  this  of  Chris- 
tianity ;  no  book  ever  gave  so  may  clues  to  discovery,  if  it  tell  one 
untruth,  than  its  sacred  volume.  In  it  we  have  recorded  the  earli- 
est and  the  latest  physical  revolutions  of  our  globe,  the  dispersion  of 
the  human  race  ;  the  succession  of  monarchs  in  all  surroundintr 
countries,  from  the  time  of  Se.sostris  to  the  Syrian  kings  ;  the  habits, 
and  manners,  and  language  of  various  nations;  the  great  religious 
traditions  of  the  human  race ;  and  the  recital  of  many  marvellous 
and  miraculous  events,  not  to  he  found  in  the  annals  of  any  other 
people.  Had  the  tests  whereby  all  these  different  ingredients  were 
to  be  one  day  tried,  existed  when  they  were  thus  compounded  togeth- 


CONCLUSION. 


381 


er,  some  pains  niiglit  have  been  taken  to  secure  tliem  against  their 
action.  But  against  the  future,  no  skill,  no  ingenuity,  could  afford 
protection.  Had  the  name  of  a  single  Egyptian  Pharaoh  been  in- 
vented to  suit  convenience,  as  we  see  done  by  other  oriental  histori- 
ans, the  discovery  of  the  hieroglyphic  alphabet,  after  3000  years, 
would  not  have  been  one  of  the  chances  of  detection  against  which 
the  historian  would  have  guarded.  Had  the  history  of  the  creation, 
or  of  the  deluge,  been  a  fabulous  or  poetical  fiction,  the  toilsome 
journies  of  the  geologist  among  Alpine  valleys,  or  the  discovery  of 
hyaenas'  caves  in  an  unknown  island,  would  not  be  the  confirmations 
of  his  theory,  on  which  its  inventor  would  have  ever  reckoned.  A 
fragment  of  Berosus  comes  to  light,  and  it  proves  what  seemed  be- 
fore incredible,  to  be  perfectly  true.  A  medal  is  found,  and  it  com- 
pletes the  reconciliation  of  apparent  contradictions.  Every  science, 
every  pursuit,  as  it  makes  a  step,  in  its  own  natural  onward  progress, 
increases  the  mass  of  our  confirmatory  evidence. 

Such,  then,  is  the  first  important  result  which  we  have  gained  ; 
— the  acquisition  of  that  powerful  proof  which  a  system  receives  from 
multiplied   verifications.      This  proof  will  be  greatly  enhanced   in 
value  by  a  few  obvious  considerations.       And   first,  I  would  remark, 
that  the  sacred  volume  is  not  the  work  of  one  man,  nor  of  one  age, 
but  is  a  compilation  rather  of  the  writings  of  many.     Now,  if  one 
very  skilful  writer  had  attempted  the  task  of  forging  the  annals  of  a 
people,  or  of  writing  the  fictitious  biograi)hy  of  some   distinguished 
person,  or  of  drawing  up  imaginary  systems  of  nature,  or  of  describ- 
ing from  fancy  the  great  events  of  her  history,  he  might,  by  possibili- 
ty, have  guarded  himself  on  every  side  against  detection,  and  meas- 
ured every  phrase,  so  as  to  suit  the  specific  purpose  which  he  held  in 
view.       But  to  imagine,  that  during  the  1600  years  from   Moses  to 
St.  John,  such  a  system  could   have  been  carried  on,  by  a  series  of 
writers  having  no  connexion,  of  the  most  unequal  abilities,  writing — 
if  we,  for   one   moment,  admit  the  impious  hypothesis — under  the 
most  diverse  influences,  necessarily  viewing  the  past  and  the  future 
under  different  aspects,  is  to  imagine  a  stranger  combination  of  mor- 
al agents  for  an  evil  work  than  the  world  ever  beheld.     But  this  is 
not  our  present  consideration.     It  is  evident  that  the  power  could  not 
have  seconded  the  will  to  deceive,  supposing  this  to  have  existed ; 
the  points  of  contact  with  other  facts  would  have  been  too  infinite- 
ly multiplied  to  fit  exactly  in   every  case :  if  we  supposed   Moses  to 
have  been  accurately  acquainted  with  the  Egypt  of  his  time,  it  would 


382  LECTURE  THE  TWELFTH. 

be  improbable  that  every  succeeding  annalist  should  have  possessed 
a  similar  acquaintance  ;  if  the  opinions  of  his  time,  concerning  the 
pliysical  constitution  of  the  world,  were  so  accurate  as  to  give  no 
chance  of  their  being  falsified  by  modern  discoveries,  this  would  not 
have  secured  to  Isaiah  accuracy  in  recounting  the  affairs  of  Babylon. 
In  fine,  the  greater  the  extent  of  time  and  territory,  events  and  usa- 
ges embraced  by  the  sacred  Book,  the  greater  the  dangers  of  disco- 
very, had  it  contained  aught  untrue  or  incorrect. 

Secondly,  we  may  remark,  that  the  points  which  our  researches 
have  verified,  have  seldom  been  leading  events,  or  the  direct  subject 
of  which  the  inspired  authors  treated  ;  but  generally  incidental,  and 
almost  parenthetic  observations,  or  narratives,  on  which  they  could 
liardlv  have  expected  much  research  to  be  made.  The  common  ori- 
gin of  all  mankind,  or  the  miraculous  dispersion  of  our  race,  are  not 
matters  paraded  at  length  ;  but  the  former  is  left  almost  to  inference, 
and  the  latter  is  recorded  in  the  simplest  manner.  Yet  we  have  seen 
what  a  long  process  of  study  has  been  required,  to  bring  out  the 
proofs  of  these  events,  against  the  strong  prepossessions  of  first  ap- 
pearances, and  the  boasted  conclusions  of  ill-studied  science.  The 
various  historical  incidents,  on  which  light  has  been  shed  by  our 
modern  application,  are  mostly  episodes  to  the  general  narrative  of 
Jewish  domestic  history  ;  all  are  such  passages  as  would  have  been 
penned  with  a  less  guarded  hand,  and  with  the  smallest  suspicion 
that  they  would  be  used  for  assaying  the  work.  Yet  even  such  pas- 
sages as  these  have  been  searchingly  assailed,  without  any  unfavor- 
able result. 

Thirdly,  we  might  have  been  somewhat  jealous  of  the  experiment 
had  it  been  conducted  exclusively  by  friends.  But  though  these  have 
labored  much  in  the  work  of  verification  and  illustration,  the  greater 
part  has  been  done  by  two  other  classes  of  men,  equally  above  suspi- 
cion. The  first  consists  of  those  who  have  quietly  conducted  their 
studies,  without  intending  at  all  to  apply  them  to  sacred  purposes,  or 
even  suspecting  that  they  would  be  so  applied.  The  antiquarian, 
when  he  garners  up,  and  then  deciphers,  a  new  coin,  knows  not,  till 
the  process  is  complete,  what  tidings  from  the  olden  world  it  will  bear 
him.  The  orientalist  pores  over  his  defaced  parchments,  unable  to 
conjecture  what  information  it  will  give  him  of  distant  usages,  till  he 
has  overcome  its  difficulties.  Neither  the  one  nor  the  other  pursues 
his  studies  from  a  surmise  that  what  he  shall  discover  will  prove  of 
use  to  the  theologian  ;  no  possibly  anticipation  of  mind  could  have 


CONCLUSION.  383 

led  the  learned  Aucher  to  hope,  that  a  fragment  of  Berosus  would  be 
found  in  the  Armenian  version  of  Eusebius,  which  had  been  lost  in 
the  original ;  still  less  that  such  a  fragment,  if  discovered,  would  dis- 
perse a  difficulty  which  clouded  an  important  narrative.  Now,  this 
has  been  essentially  a  portion,  or  rather  a  condition,  of  my  plan,  to 
have  recourse  chiefly  to  authors  that  have  conducted  their  researches, 
without  attention  to  any  advantages  thence  accruing  to  Christian 
evidences. 

But  the  second  class  of  writers,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  a 
large  portion  of  our  materials  in  this  investigation,  are  removed  a 
step  further  from  all  suspicion  of  partiality  to  our  cause.  You  will 
naturally  understand  me  to  signify  such  as  are  decidedly  hostile  to 
our  opinions.  These,  again,  may  be  subdivided  into  two  classes. 
The  first  may  contain  such  writers  as  do  not  admit  the  conclusions 
which  we  draw  from  our  premises,  though  they  assist  us  in  establish- 
ing them  ;  or  who  do  not  impugn,  though  they  admit  not  our  belief. 
Thus,  you  have  seen  Klaproth  deny  the  dispersion,  and  Virey  the 
unity  of  the  human  race,  yet  both  accumulating  evidence  of  impor- 
tance towards  establishing  these  two  points.  Others  have  been 
pressed  into  our  service  much  more  unwillingly  ;  for  their  ingenuity 
and  talents  have  been  exercised  to  combat  the  very  propositions 
which  I  have  endeavored  to  establish.  Nay,  the  genius  of  Buffon 
seems  to  have  been  quickened  by  the  idea  that  he  was  taking  a 
bolder  flight  than  men  are  wont  to  attempt,  and  striving  to  pass  the 
limits  of  universal  conviction.  The  miserable  fragments  then  pos- 
sessed of  Hindoo  astronomy,  never  would  have  occupied  the  genius 
of  the  unfortunate  Bailly,  had  not  his  eagerness  been  sharpened  by 
the  vain  hope  of  thereby  constructing  a  chronological  scheme,  more 
in  accordance  with  the  irreligious  opinions  of  his  party,  than  with 
the  venerable  belief  of  former  ages.  And  yet  the  imagination  of  the 
former  first  devised  the  theory  of  a  gradual  cooling  of  the  earth's 
mass,  which  now  is  considered  by  so  many  as  a  sufficient  solution  of 
the  difficulties  regarding  the  deluge  ;  and  the  latter  may  be  said,  by 
trying  to  reduce  that  astronomy  to  a  scientific  e.xpression,  to  have  laid 
the  train  for  its  total  exposure. 

These  considerations  must  add  greatly  to  the  power  of  the  argu- 
ment proposed  in  these  Lectures.  For  they  must  remove  every  sus- 
picion that  the  authorities  on  which  it  is  based  have  been  carefully 
prepared  by  a  friendly  hand. 

The  first  result  of  this  reasoning  is  obvious  ;  that  every  security 


384  LECTURE  THE  TWELFTH. 

which  an  endless  variety  of  tests  applied  to  a  system  without  injuring 
it,  can  giie  ns  of  its  truth,  the  Christian  religion,  and  its  evidences, 
may  justly  boast.  But  this  consequence  has  also  an  important  pros- 
pective force,  for  it  presents  a  ground  of  confidence  for  the  future, 
such  as  no  other  form  of  argument  could  present.  For,  if  all  that 
has  yet  been  done  has  tended  to  confirm  our  proofs,  we  surely  have 
nothing  to  fear  from  what  yet  remains  concealed.  Had  the  first 
stages  of  every  science  been  the  most  favorable  to  our  cause,  and  had 
its  further  improvement  diminished  what  we  had  gained,  we  might 
indeed  be  alarmed  about  any  ulterior  prosecution  of  learning.  But 
seeing  that  the  order  of  things  is  precisely  the  reverse,  that  the  begin- 
nings of  sciences  arc  least  propitious  to  our  desires,  and  their  pro- 
gress most  satisfactory,  we  cannot  but  be  convinced  that  future  dis- 
coveries, far  from  weakening,  must  necessarily  strengthen,  the  evi- 
dences we  possess. 

And  thus  we  come  to  form  a  noble  and  sublime  idea  of  religion, 
to  consider  it  as  the  great  fixed  point  round   which  the  moral  world 
revolves,  while  itself  remains   unchanged  ;  or  rather  as  the   emblem 
of  Him  who  gave  it,  the  all-embracing  medium  in  which  every  other 
thing  moves,   increases  and   lessens,  is  born   and   destroyed,  without 
communicating  to  it  essential  mutation,  but,  at  most,  transiently  alter- 
i  ing  its  outward  manifestation.     We  come  to  consider  it  as  the  last 
I  refuge  of  thought,  the  binding  link  between  the  visible  and  invisible, 
\  the  revealed  and  the  discoverable,  the  resolution  of  all  anomalies,  the 
determination  of  all  problems  in  outward  nature  and  in  the  inward 
soul  ;  the  fixing  and  steadying  element  of  every  science,  the  blank 
and  object  of  every  meditation.     It  appears  to  us  even  as  the  olive, 
the  emblem  of  peace,  is  described  by  Sophocles  —  a  plant  not  set  by 
human  hands,  but  of  spontaneous  and   necessary  growth  in  the  great 
'  order  of  creative  wisdom,  fearful  to  its  enemies,  and  so  firmly  ground- 
ed, as  that  none,  in  ancient  or  later  times,  hath  been  able  to  uproot  it. 

cpvxfv^    uxslgwTOV,  uvtcttoiov 

TO  fiiv  rig  ovis  viog  ovn  yrj^u 
(TTjfiuivMV  uXioiati  x^qI  nsQaug* 

After  what  I  have  said,  it  may  appear  superfluous  to  conclude 
that  the  Christian  religion  can  have  no  interest  in  repressing  the  cul- 

*  (Edip.  Col.  694. 


CONCLUSION.  385 

tivation  of  science  and  literature,  nor  any  reason  to  dread  their  gene- 
ral diffusion,  so  long  as  this  is  accompanied  by  due  attention  to  sound 
moral  principles  and  correctness  of  faith.  For  if  the  experience  of 
the  past  has  given  us  a  security  that  the  progress  of  science  uniformly 
tends  to  increase  the  sum  of  our  proofs,  and  to  give  fresli  lustre  to 
such  as  we  already  possess,  in  favor  of  Christianity,  it  surely  becomes 
her  interest  and  her  duty  to  encourage  that  constant  and  salutary  ad- 
vance. Yet,  from  the  beginning  of  the  Church  there  have  been 
found  men,  who  professed  a  contrary  opinion,  and  they  may  be  divid- 
ed into  two  classes,  according  to  the  motives  which  have  instigated 
their  opposition  to  human  learning. 

The  first  consists  of  those  well  meaning  Christians,  who  in  all 
ages,  have  fancied  that  science  and  literature  are  incomj)atible  with 
application  to  more  sacred  studies,  or  that  they  draw  the  mind  from 
the  contemplation  of  heavenly  things,  and  are  an  alloy  to  that  con- 
stant holiness  of  thought,  which  a  Christian  should  ever  strive  to  pos- 
sess ;  or  else  that  such  pursuits  are  clearly  condemned  in  Scripture, 
wherever  the  wisdom  of  this  world  is  reproved.  This  class  of  timid 
Christians  first  directed  their  opposition  to  that  philosophy  which  so 
many  fathers,  especially  of  the  Alexandrian  school,  endeavored  to 
join  and  reconcile  with  Christian  theology.  They  were,  however, 
strenuously  attacked  and  confuted  by  Clement  of  Alexandria,  who 
devoted  several  chapters  of  his  learned  Stromata  to  the  vindication 
of  his  favorite  studies.  He  observes  very  justly,  that  "  varied  and 
abundant  learning  recommends  him  who  proposes  the  great  dogmas 
of  faith,  to  the  credit  of  his  hearers,  inspiring  his  disciples  with  ad- 
miration, and  drawing  them  towards  the  truth  ;"*  which  is  in  like 
manner  the  opinion  of  Cicero,  when  he  says,  "  magna  est  enim  vis 
ad  persuadendum  scientias."t  Clement  then  illustrates  his  argument 
by  many  quotations  from  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  from  profane  au- 
thors.    I  will  read  you  one  remarkable  passage. 

"  Some  persons,  having  a  high  opinion  of  their  good  dispositions, 
will  not  apply  to  philosophy  or  dialectics,  nor  even  to  natural  philoso- 
phy, but  wish  to  possess  faith  alone  and  unadorned  ;  as  reasonably 
as  though  they  expected  to  gather  grapes  from  a  vine  which  they 
have  left  uncultivated.  Our  Lord  is  called,  allegorically,  a  vine, 
from  which  we  gather  fruit,  by  a  careful  cultivation,  according  to  the 

*  "  Stromata,"  Lib.  i.  cap.  2.  Tom.  i.  p.  327,  ed.  Potter. 
t  "Topicn,"  Oper.  Tom.  i.  p.  173,  ed.  Lond.  1G81. 
49 


38G  LECTURE  THE  TWELFTH. 

eternal  Word.  We  must  prune,  and  dig,  and  bind,  and  perform  all 
other  necessary  labor.  And,  as  in  agriculture  and  in  medicine,  he 
is  considered  the  best  educated  who  has  applied  to  the  greatest  vari- 
ety of  sciences,  useful  for  tilling  or  for  curing,  so  must  we  consider 
him  most  properly  educated,  who  makes  all  things  bear  upon  the 
truth  ;  who  from  geometry,  and  music,  and  grammar,  and  philosophy 
itself,  gathers  whatever  is  useful  for  the  defence  of  the  faith.  But 
the  champion  who  has  not  trained  himself  well,  will  surely  be  de- 
spised."* 

These  words,  I  must  own,  afford  me  no  small  encouragement. 
For  if,  instead  of  geometry  and  music,  we  say  geology,  and  ethnog- 
raphy, and  history,  we  may  consider  ourselves  as  having,  in  this  pas- 
sage, a  formal  confirmation  of  the  views  which  we  have  taken  in 
these  Lectures,  and  an  approbation  of  the  principles  on  which  they 
have  been  conducted. 

As  this  opposition  continued  in  the  Church,  so  was  it  met  by 
zealous  and  eloquent  pastors,  as  most  prejudicial  to  the  cause  of  truth. 
St.  Basil  the  Great  seems  particularly  to  have  been  thought  a  most 
strenuous  defender  of  profane  learning,  in  his  age.  He  himself  ear- 
nestly recommends  the  study  of  elegant  literature,  at  that  age  when, 
according  to  him,  the  mind  is  too  weak  to  bear  the  more  solid  food 
of  God's  inspired  word.  He  expressly  says,  that  by  the  perusal  of 
such  writers  as  Homer,  the  youthful  mind  is  trained  to  virtuous  feel- 
ings ;  at  the  same  time,  however,  that  care  must  be  taken  to  withhold 
all  that  can  corrupt  the  innocence  of  the  heart.t 

St.  Gregory  of  Nyssa  speaks  of  him  with  great  praise,  because  he 
practically  brought  these  principles  to  bear  upon  religion,  and  illus- 
trated them  by  his  great  learning.  "  Many,"  he  writes,  "  present 
profane  learning  as  a  gift  to  the  Church ;  among  whom  was  the  great 
Basil,  who  having,  in  his  youth,  seized  on  the  spoil  of  Egypt,  and 
consecrated  it  to  God,  adorned  with  its  wealth  the  tabernacle  of  the 
Church."! 

But  the  illustrious  friend  of  St.  Basil  has  entered  more  at  length 
into  the  merits  of  this  question-  St.  Gregory  Nazianzen  had  been 
his  schoolfellow  at  Athens  ;  where  both,  animated  by  the  same  reli- 
gious spirit,  had  devoted  themselves  with  signal  success  to  the  prose- 


•  Ibid.  c.  ix.  p.  342. 

t  "  Basilii  Opera,"  Tom.  i.  Horn.  24. 

I  "  De  Vita  Mosis."     "  S.  Gregorii  Nj-asenni  Opera."  Paris,  1638. 
Tom.  i.  p.  209. 


CONCLUSION.  387 

cution  of  study,  considering  truth,  according  to  the  expression  of  St. 
Augustine,  "wherever  found,  to  be  the  property  of  Christ's  Church." 
Indeed,  so  well  did  their  schoolmate,  Julian,  understand  the  value 
which  they  and  other  holy  men  of  their  time,  attached  to  human 
learning,  and  the  powerful  use  which  they  made  of  it  to  overthrow 
idolatry  and  error,  that,  upon  his  apostasy,  he  issued  a  decree,  where- 
by Christians  were  debarred  from  attending  public  schools,  and  ac- 
quiring science.*  And  this  was  considered  by  them  a  grievous  per- 
secution. One  passage,  from  St.  Gregory's  funeral  oration  over  his 
friend,  will  be  sufficient  to  satisfy  you  concerning  his  opinion. 

"  I  think  that  all  men  of  sound  mind  must  agree,  that  learning  is 
to  be  reckoned  the  highest  of  earthly  goods.  I  speak  not  merely  of 
that  noble  learning  which  is  ours,  and  which,  despising  all  outward 
grace,  applies  exclusively  to  the  work  of  salvation,  and  the  beauty  of 
intellectual  ideas,  but  also  of  that  learning  which  is  from  without, 
which  some  ill-judging  Christians  reject  as  wily  and  dangerous,  and 
as  turning  the  mind  from  God."  After  observing,  that  the  abuse  of 
such  learning  by  the  heathens  is  no  reason  for  its  rejection,  any  more 
than  their  blasphemous  substitution  of  the  material  elements  for  God, 
can  debar  us  from  their  legitimate  use,  he  thus  proceeds  : — "  There- 
fore must  not  erudition  be  reproved,  because  some  men  choose  to 
think  so  ;  on  the  contrary,  they  are  to  be  considered  foolish  and  igno- 
rant who  so  reason,  who  would  wish  all  men  to  be  like  themselves, 
that  they  may  be  concealed  in  the  crowd,  and  no  one  be  able  to  de- 
tect their  want  of  education. "t 

The  terms  here  used  are  indeed  severe  ;  but  they  serve  to  show, 
in  the  strongest  manner,  the  sentiment  of  this  holy  and  learned 
man,  on  the  utility  of  human  science  and  literature.  Turning  to  the 
great  lights  of  the  Western  Church,  we  find  no  less  severity  of  re- 
proof used  in  dealing  with  those  that  oppose  profane  learning.  St. 
Jerome,  for  instance,  speaks  even  harshly  of  those  who,  as  he  says, 
"  mistake  ignorance  for  sanctity,  and  boast  that  they  are  the  disciples 
of  poor  fishermen."!     On  another  occasion,  he  illustrates  the  Scrip- 

*  "  Socrates  Hist.  Eccles."  lib.  i.  cap.  12. 

f  S.  Gregor.  Nazianzeni  "  Funebris  oratio  in  laiidem  Basilii  Magni," 
Oper.  Paris,  1609,  torn.  jj.  323. 

I  "Responsum  habeant  non  adeo  me  hebetis  fuisse  cordis,  et  tarn 
crassse  rusticitatis,  quam  iili  solam  pro  sauctitate  liabeiit,  piscatorum  se 
discipulos  asserenies,  quasi  iilcirco  sancti  sint,  si  nihil  scirnnt."  Ep.  xv. 
ad  jMarcellam,  Oper.  Tom.  ii.  Par.  ii.  p.  62,  Ed.  Martianay. 


388  LECTURE  THE  TWELFTH. 

ture  from  many  topics  of  heathen  philosophy,  and  then  concludes  in 
these  words  :  — "  Ha3C  autem  de  Scrij)tura  pauca  posuimus,  ut  con- 
gruere  nostra  cum  philosophis  doceremus."  "  We  have  alleged  these 
few  things  from  Scripture,  so  to  show  that  our  doctrines  agree  with 
those  of  the  philosophers."*  Which  wotds  clearly  intimate,  that  he 
considered  it  an  interesting  study,  and  not  unworthy  of  a  good  Chris- 
tian, to  trace  the  connexions  between  revealed  truths  and  human 
learning,  and  to  see  if  the  two  could  be  brought  into  harmony  together. 

His  learned  friend,  St.  Augustine,  was  clearly  of  the  same  mind. 
For,  speaking  of  the  qualities  requisite  for  a  well-furnished  theolo- 
gian, he  enumerates  mundane  learning  among  them,  as  of  great  im- 
portance. Thus  he  writes  : — "  If  they  who  are  called  philosophers 
have  said  any  true  things,  which  are  conformable  to  our  faith,  so  far 
from  dreading  them,  we  must  take  them  for  our  use,  as  a  possession 
which  they  unjustly  hold."  He  then  observes,  that  those  truths, 
which  lie  scattered  in  their  writings,  are  as  pure  metal  amidst  the  ore 
of  a  vein,  "  which  the  Christian  should  take  from  them,  for  the  right- 
ful purpose  of  preaching  the  Gospel. "t  "  Have  so  many  of  the  best 
faithful  among  us,"  he  continues,  "  acted  otherwise  ?  With  what  a 
weight  of  gold  and  silver,  and  precious  garments,  have  we  not  beheld 
Cyprian,  that  sweetest  doctor  and  most  blessed  martyr,  laden  as  he 
went  forth  from  Egypt?  How  much  did  Lactantius,  Victorinus, 
Optatus,  Hilary,  bear  away  ?     How  much  innumerable  Greeks  ?"| 

It  is  not  difficult  to  reconcile  with  such  passages  as  these,  those 
many  places  where  the  fathers  seem  to  reprobate  human  learning  ; 
as  where  St.  Augustine  himself,  in  one  of  his  letters,  speaking  of  the 
education  he  was  giving  to  Possidius,  says,  that  the  studies  usually 
called  liberal,  deserve  not  that  name,  at  that  time  honorable,  which 
properly  belongs  to  pursuits  grounded  on  the  true  liberty  which 
Christ  purchased  for  us ;  or  where  St.  Ambrose,  to  quote  one  passage 
out  of  many,  tells  Demetrias,  that  "  they  who  know  by  what  labor 
they  were  saved,  and  at  what  cost  redeemed,  wish  not  to  be  of  the 
wise  in  this  world. "§     For  it  is  plain  that  they  speak,  on  those  occa- 

*  "Adv.  Jovinianum,"  lib.  ii.  lb.  p.  200. 

f  "  Del)(!i  ab  eis  auferre  Christiaiuis,  ad  usuin  jiistuin  pra^dicandi 
evangeiiiun." 

I  "  De  Dootrina  Christiana,"  lib.  ii.  cap.  40,  Opera,  torn.  iii.  par.  i. 
p.  42.  Ei.].  Mam: 

§  "Epistoiar."  lib.  iv.  Epist.  xxxiii.  Opcr.  torn.  v.  p.  264.  Ed.  Par. 
1632. 


CONCLUSION.  389 

sions,  of  the  foolish,  vain,  and  self-sufficient  learning  of  arrogant 
sophists  and  wily  rhetoricians,  and  of  that  science  which  void  of  the 
salt  of  grace,  and  of  a  religious  spirit,  is  insipid,  va])id,  and  nothing 
worth.  And  how  can  we  for  a  moment,  think  otherwise,  when  we 
peruse  the  glorious  works,  and  contemplate  the  treasure  of  ancient 
learning  therein  hoarded,  and  trace  in  every  paragraph  their  deep 
acquaintance  with  heathen  philosophy,  and  in  every  sentence, 
their  familiarity  with  the  purest  models  of  style  ?  Who  can 
doubt,  or  who  will  dare  to  regret,  that  Tertullian  and  Justin, 
Arnobius  and  Origen,  were  furnished  with  all  the  weapons  which 
pagan  learning  could  supply,  towards  combating  on  behalf  of  truth  ? 
Who  can  wish  that  St.  Basil  and  St.  Jerome,  Si.  Gregory  and  St. 
Augustine  had  been  less  versed  than  they  were,  in  all  the  elegant 
literature  of  the  ancients?  Nay,  even  in  the  very  letter  to  which  I 
have  alluded,  St.  Augustine,  if  I  remember  right,  speaks  without  re- 
gret, and  even  with  satisfaction,  of  the  books  on  music  which  his 
friend  had  expressed  a  wish  to  possess. 

The  sentiments  of  the  early  Church  have  undergone  no  change 
from  time  on  this,  any  more  than  on  other  points.  Mabillon 
has  proved,  beyond  dispute,  that  even  among  men  of  monastic  life, 
learning  was  encouraged  and  promoted  from  the  beginning.*  Ba- 
con writes  with  great  commendation  of  the  zeal  for  learning  which 
has  always  been  shown  in  the  Catholic  Church.  God,  he  writes, 
"  sent  out  his  divine  truth  into  the  world,  accompanied  with  other 
parts  of  learning,  as  her  attendants  and  handmaids.  We  find  that 
many  of  the  ancient  bishops  and  fathers  of  the  Church  were  well 
versed  in  the  learning  of  the  heathens,  insomuch  that  the  edict  of 
the  Emperor  Julian,  forbidding  the  Christians  the  schools  and  exer- 
cises, was  accounted  a  more  pernicious  engine  against  the  faith,  than 
the  sanguinary  persecutions  of  his  predecessors.  It  was  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  which,  among  the  inundations  of  the  Scythians  from 
the  north-west,  and  the  Saracens  from  the  east,  preserved  in  her 
bosom  the  relics  of  even  profane  learning,  which  had  otherwise  been 
utterly  extinguished.  And  of  late  years  the  Jesuits  have  greatly  en- 
livened and  strengthened  the  state  of  learning,  and  contributed  to 
establish  the  Roman  See." 

"  There  are,  therefore,"  he  concludes,  "  two  principal  services, 


*  "  Traiie  des  'Etudes   monastiques."  par.  i.  cap.  xv.  p.  112.    Par. 
1G91. 


390  LECTURE  THE  TWELFTH. 

besides  ornament  and  illustration,  which  philosophy  and  human 
learning  perform  to  religion  ;  the  one  consists  in  effectually  exciting 
to  the  exaltation  of  God's  glory,  the  other  affording  a  singular  preser- 
vation against  unbelief  and  error."* 

Between  the  two  extremes  which  Bacon  has  named,  the  ancient 
fathers  and  the  Society  of  Jesus,  there  is  a  long  interval,  during 
which,  in  spite  of  ordinary  prejudice,  we  must  not  allow  ourselves  to 
imagine,  that  the  fostering  spirit  of  the  Church  was  not  exerted  in 
favor  of  profane  learning.  "  I  would  observe,"  writes  a  learned  and 
amiable  author,  "  that  to  a  Catholic,  not  only  the  philosophical,  but  also 
the  literary  history  of  the  world  is  prodigiously  enlarged ;  objects 
change  their  relative  position,  and  many  are  brought  into  resplendent 
light,  which  before  v/ere  consigned  to  obscurity.  While  the  moderns 
continue,  age  after  age,  to  hear  only  of  the  Csesars  and  the  philoso- 
phers, and  to  exercise  their  ingenuity  in  tracing  parallel  characters 
among  their  contemporaries,  the  Catholic  discovers  that  there  lies,  be- 
tween the  heathen  civilization  and  the  present,  an  entire  world,  illustri- 
ous with  every  kind  of  intellectual  and  moral  greatness ;  the  names 
which  are  on  his  tongue,  are  no  longer  Cicero  and  Horace,  but  St. 
Augustine,  St.  Bernard,  Alcuin,  St.  Thomas,  St.  Anselm  ;  the  places 
associated  in  his  mind  with  the  peace  and  dignity  of  learning,  are  no 
longer  the  Lycaeum  or  the  Academy,  but  Citeaux,  Cluny,  Crowland, 
or  the  Oxford  of  the  middle  ages."t 

I  will  only  refer  you  to  his  rich  and  glowing  page  for  sufficient 
proof  that  classical  and  philosophical  pursuits  were  zealously  and 
ably  followed  in  the  solitude  of  the  cloister,  by — 

"  The  thoughtful  monks,  intent  their  God  to  please, 
For  Christ's  dear  sake,  by  human  sympathies 
Poured  from  the  bosom  of  the  Church."| 

But  I  cannot  withhold  from  you  the  opinion  of  one  who  was  a  bright 
ornament  of  those  calumniated  ages.  Among  the  exquisite  sermons 
of  St.  Bernard  on  the  Canticles,  is  one  on  this  very  theme  ;  "  that  the 
knowledge  of  human  learning  is  good :"  in  which  the  eloquent  father 


*  "  De  augmentis  Scientiarum."  Bacon's  Works.  Lonrf.  1818,  vol. 
vi.  p.  63. 

t  *'  Mores  Catholic),  or  Ages  of  Faith."  Book  iii.  Land.  1833, 
p.  277. 

\  "  Yarrow  revisited."  2d  ed.  p.  254. 


CONCLUSION.  391 

thus  expresses  himself.  "  I  may,  perhaps,  appear  to  depreciate  learn- 
ing too  much,  and  almost  to  reprove  the  learned,  and  forbid  the  study 
of  letters.  God  forbid.  I  am  not  ignorant  how  much  learned  men 
have  benefitted,  and  now  benefit  the  Church,  whether  by  confuting 
those  who  are  opposed  to  her,  or  by  instructing  the  ignorant.  And 
I  have  read,  '  because  thou  hast  rejected  knowledge,  I  will  reject 
thee ;  that  thou  shalt  not  do  the  office  of  the  priesthood  to  me.'  "* 

Such  then  has  been  the  feeling  and  conduct  of  the  Catholic 
Church  regarding  the  application  of  profane  learning  to  the  defence 
and  illustration  of  truth  :  and  perhaps  the  best  answer  which  can  be 
given  to  such  inconsiderate  Christians  as  say  that  religion  needs  not 
such  foreign  and  meretricious  aids,  is  that  of  Dr.  South  ;  "  if  God 
hath  no  need  of  our  learning,  he  can  have  still  less  of  your  ig- 
norance." 

The  second  class  of  writers  who  assert  that  religion  is  not  inte- 
rested in  the  progress  of  learning  is  actuated  by  very  different  mo- 
tives. For  it  comprises  those  enemies  of  revelation,  against  whom 
these  Lectures  have  been  principally  directed,  and  who  pretend  that 
the  onward  course  of  science  tends  to  overthrow  or  weaken,  the 
evidences  of  revealed  religion.  I  have  had  so  many  opportunities  of 
practically  confuting  these  men,  that  I  shall  not  stay  to  expose  any 
further  the  folly  of  their  assertions.  I  will  only  observe  that  this  un- 
grounded reproach  was  not  made,  for  the  first  time,  by  the  modern 
adversaries  of  Christianity,  but  is  in  fact  the  oldest  charge  brought 
against  it.  For  Celsus,  one  of  the  most  ancient  impugners  of  its 
truth,  whose  objections  are  on  record,  especially  taunted  us  with  this 
hostility  to  science,  from  a  fear  of  its  weakening  our  cause.  But  he 
met  with  an  able  and  victorious  opponent  in  the  learned  Origen,  who 
triumphantly  rebuts  the  calumny,  and  draws  from  it  a  conclusion 
which  I  cannot  refrain  from  quoting.  "  If  the  Christian  religion 
shall  be  found  to  invite  and  encourage  men  to  learning,  then  must 
they  deserve  severe  reprehension  who  seek  to  excuse  their  own  igno- 
rance, by  so  speaking,  as  to  draw  others  away  from  application."! 
This  remark,  while  it  shows  the  security  felt  by  Origen,  that  Chris- 
tianity could  not  suffer  by  the  encouragement  of  learning,  is  also 
a  just  rebuke  to  that  timid  class  of  friends  who  are  alarmed  at  its 
progress. 

*  "Serm.  xxxvi.  super  Cantiea."  Opera,  p.  608.  Basil.  1566. 

f  "  Contra  Celsum."     Lib.  iii.  Opera,  Tom.  i.  p.  476,  ed.  De  la  Rue. 


392  LECTURE  THE  TWELFTH. 

More  than  once  I  have  had  opportunities  of  vindicating  Italy, 
and  Rome  especially,  from  silly  calumnies  in  this  regard.  I  have 
proved  that  this  city  has  been  the  foremost  in  encouraging  and  aid- 
ing science  and  literature,  the  tendency  of  which  was  to  probe  the 
foundations  of  religion  to  their  very  centre,  without  jealousy  and 
without  alarm.  There  is  no  country,  perhaps,  where  the  higher  de- 
partments of  education  are  so  unreservedly  thrown  open  to  every 
rank,  where  the  physical  sciences  are  more  freely  pursued,  and 
where  oriental  and  critical  literature  have  been  more  fostered  than 
here.  This  city  possesses  three  establishments  in  the  form  of  a  Uni- 
versity, in  which  all  branches  of  literature  and  science  are  simulta- 
neously cultivated  under  able  professors ;  and  there  is  a  chair  in  the 
great  University  of  a  character  perfectly  unique,  wherein  the  discov- 
eries of  modern  physics  are  applied  to  the  vindication  of  Scripture.* 
In  my  own  case,  I  should  be  unjust  to  overlook  this  opportunity  of  say- 
ing, that  on  every  occasion,  but  principally  in  reference  to  the  sub- 
ject of  these  Lectures,  I  have  received  the  most  condescending  en- 
couragement from  those  whose  approbation  every  Catholic  will  con- 
sider his  best  reward  on  earth. f 

But  from  all  that  I  have  hitherto  said,  and  I  hope  proved,  we 
may  surely  draw  some  practical  conclusions.  And  first  I  beg  to  turn 
myself,  with  all  becoming  deference,  to  those  who  share  the  duties 
and  the  dangers  of  my  own  calling  ;  and  without  presuming  so  far  as 
to  instruct  or  even  to  advise  them,  as  a  friend  and  brother,  entreat 
them  to  lose  no  opportunity  of  giving  the  lie,  by  their  deeds,  to  the 

*  The  chair  of  "Fisca  sagra." 

f  I  feel  a  pleasure  in  relating  the  following  anecdote.  A  few  years 
ago,  I  prefixed  to  a  thesis  held  by  a  member  of  my  establishment,  a 
Latin  dissertation  of  ten  or  twelve  pages,  upon  the  necessity  of  uniting 
general  and  scientific  knowledge  to  theological  pursuits.  I  took  a 
rapid  view  of  the  diflFerent  branches  of  learning  dicussed  in  these  Lec- 
tures. The  Essay  was  soon  translated  into  Italian,  and  printed  in  a  Si- 
cilian journal;  and  I  believe  appeared  also  at  Milan.  What  was  most 
gratifying,  however,  to  my  own  feelings,  and  may  serve  as  a  confirma- 
tion of  the  assertions  in  the  text,  is,  that  when  two  days  after  I  waited 
upon  the  late  Pope,  Pius  VIII,  a  man  truly  well  versed  in  sacred  and 
profane  literature,  to  present  him,  according  to  form,  with  a  copy  of  the 
Thesis  prepared  for  him,  I  found  him  with  it  on  his  table  ;  and  in  the 
kindest  terms  he  informed  me,  that  having  heard  of  my  little  essay,  he 
had  instantly  sent  for  it;  and  added,  in  terms  allusive  to  the  figure 
quoted  above  from  the  ancient  fathers,  "  you  have  robbed  Egypt  of  its 
spoil,  and  shown  that  it  belongs  to  the  people  of  God." 


co\ci,usio\.  393 

persevering  reproacli  of  religious  enemies.      It  is  not  by  abstract 
reasoning  that  we  shall  convince  mankind  of  our  not  dreading  the 
progress  of  learning ;  it  is   by    meeting  it  fairly,  or  rather  accom- 
panymg  it  in  its  onward  march,  treating  it  ever  as  an  ally  and  a 
friend,  and  exhibiting  it  as  enlisted  on  our  side,  that  we  can  reason- 
ably hope  to  satisfy  them  that  truth  is  God's  alone,  and   that  his  ser- 
vants and  their  cause  may  fear  it  not.     The  reason  why  infidelity 
proved  so  mischievous  in  France,  during  the  last  century,  was,  that 
Its  emissaries  presented  it  to  the  acceptance  of  the  people,  tricked 
out  with  all  the  tinsel  ornaments  of  a  mock  science;  because  they 
dealt  m  illustration  and  in  specious  proofs  drawn  from  every  branch 
of  literature;  because  they  sweetened  the  edge  of  the  poisoned  cup 
with  all  the  charms  of  an  elegant  style  and  lively  composition  ;  while 
unfortunately  they  who  undertook  to  confute  them,  with  the  exception 
of  Guenee,  and  perhaps  a  few  others,  dealt  in  abstract  reasoning,  and 
mere  didactic  demonstration.*     And  is  it  too  much  to  demand  that 
equal  pains   be  taken  by  us  to  deck  out  religion  with  those  charms 
that  are  her  OAvn  vesture,  given  unto  her  by  God,  which  her  enemy 
has  imperiously  usurped  ? 

The  shifting  forms  which  infidelity  takes,  the  Proteus-like  facility 
with  which  its  shape  and  motions  vary,  should  keep  us  in  a  state  of 
unwearied  activity,  to  face  in  it  all  its  changes,  with  a  suitable  re- 
sistance, and  so  be  able  to  quell  it  in  all   its  fantastic  apparitions. 
"  The  versatility  of  error,"  says  an  eloquent  writer  of  our  times,  "  de-  \ 
mands  a  correspondent  variety  in  the  means  of  defending  truth  ;  and  i 
from  whom  have  the  public  more  right  to  expect  its  defence,  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  encroachments  of  error  and   infidelity,  than  from  those 
who  profess  to  devote  their  studies  and  their  lives  to  the  advancement 
of  virtue  and  religion?.. .As  the  Christian  ministry  is  established  for 
the  instruction  of  men,  throughout  every  age,  in  truth  and  holiness, 
it  must  adapt  itself  to  the  ever-shifting  scenes  of  the  moral  world,  and 

*  As  an  instance  of  this  defect,  in  one  who  has  taken  a  higher 
ground  than  I  have  thought;  necessary,  and  tried  to  carry  the  war  into 
the  enemy's  country,  I  might  mention  a  work,  published  at  Naples  to- 
ward the  end  of  the  last  century,  entitled,  "  L'irreligiosa  liberty  di  pen- 
sare  nemica  del  progresso  delle  scienze."  It  is  a  large  quarto,  but  from 
the  first  page  to  the  last  does  not  contain  a  single  illustrative  fact,  to 
prove  that  infidelity  has  been  hostile  to  the  progress  of  science.  It  is  a 
work  of  dry  reasoning  with  a  good  deal  of  declamation. 
50 


394  LECTURE  THE  TWELFTH. 

stand  ready  to  repel  the  attacks  of  impiety  and  error,  under  whatever 
form  they  may  appear."* 

But  these  sentiments,  spoken  of  the  instructors  of  any  religion, 
have   been  uttered  more  than  a  thousand  years  ago,  concerning  our 
ministry,  by  the  glorious  Chrysostom,  in  the  golden   book  which  he 
wrote  for  those  of  our  profession.     For  thus  he  speaks  upon  this  very 
point.     "  Wherefore   we  must  take  all  pains  that  the  doctrine  of 
Christ  dwell  abundantly  within   us.       For  the  preparations   of  the 
enemy's  battle  are  not  of  one  form  ;  for  the  war  is  in  itself  various, 
and  waged  by  divers  foes.     All  use  not  the  same  arms,  nor  conduct 
their  assault  on  the  same  plan.     He,  therefore,  who  undertakes  to 
fight  them   all,   must  understand  the   arts  of  each.     He  must  be  at 
once  an  archer  and  a  slinger,   subaltern  and  commander,  soldier  on 
horseback  or  on  foot,  equally  able  to  fight  in  the  ship  and  on  the  bul- 
wark.    For  in  ordinary  warfare,  each  one  opposes  his  adversary 
after  that  manner,  whereunto  he  hath  been  trained  ;  but  in  this  con- 
flict it  is  far  otherwise ;  since,  should  he,  who  must  gain  the  victory, 
be  not  intimately  acquainted  with  every  separate  art,  the   devil  well 
knows  how  to  take  advantage  of  some   unguarded  point,  and   intro- 
duce his  despoilers  to  seize  and  tear  the  flock.     This  is  not  the  case 
where  he  knows  the  shepherd  to  be  provided  with  every  acquirement, 
and  aware  of  his  deceits.     It  behoveth  us,  therefore,  to  be  prepared 
on  every  side."t 

To  this  encouraging  testimony  of  the  correctness  of  the  views 
which  I  have  taken,  I  can  add  that  of  an  illustrious  Father  of  the 
Latin  Church.  For  St.  Jerome,  commenting  on  Eccles.  2:  8,  "  I 
heaped  together  for  myself,  silver  and  gold,  and  the  wealth  of  kings," 
thus  expresses  himself:  "  By  the  wealth  of  kings  we  may  understand 
the  doctrines  of  the  philosophers  and  profane  sciences,  which  the 
ecclesiastic,  understanding  by  his  diligence,  he  is  able  to  catch  the 
wise  in  their  own  toils."  | 

It  is,  you  will  say,  a  toilsome  task  to  acquire  the  necessary  pre- 
paration for  this  varied  warfare  ;  but  such,  no  less,  is  the  qualification 
for  every  other  noble  oflice  of  society — 


*  "Modern  infidelity  considered  with  respect  to  its  influence  on  so- 
ciety," in  a  sermon  by  R.  Hall,  M.  A.  Lond.  1822,  pp.  4  and  1 1. 

I  "De  Sjicerdoti,"  lib.  iv.  §  iv.  p.  177.   Cantab.  1710. 

:f  "  Possunt  regum  substantiae  et  philosophorum  dici  dogmata  et 
scientise  saeculares,  quas  ecclesiasticus  vir  diligenter  intelligens,  appre- 
inendit  sapientes  in  astutia  eorum."  Comment  in  Eccles.  Tom.  ii.  p.  726. 


CONCLUSION.  395 

"  Pater  ipse  colendi 

Haud  facilem  esse  viaui  voliiit."* 

Shall  the  Roman  orator  declare  that  no  one  need  hope  to  attain 
the  perfection  of  his  profession,  "  unless  he  shall  have  acquired  the 
knowledge  of  all  the  sciences  ;"t  and  this  to  cajole  a  multitude,  and 
perhaps  even  to  turn  the  course  of  justice  :|  and  shall  we  be  deterred 
from  a  similar  application,  sweet  in  itself  and  full  of  fruit,  by  an  idea 
of  labor  and  of  difficulty  ;  when  our  object  is  the  noblest  and  the 
holiest,  which  earth  can  propose ;  when  the  sciences  themselves, 
daughters  as  they  are  of  the  uncreated  wisdom,  will  receive  consecra- 
tion, and  be  made  the  priestesses  of  the  Most  High,  by  the  very  er- 
rand whereon  we  lead  them  ?  That  time  will  be  consumed  in  the 
preparation  necessary  for  this  method  of  meeting  error  and  illustrating 
truth,  cannot  be  denied  ;  but  how,  I  may  confidently  ask,  could  time 
be  better  spent  ?  Surely  not  on  the  flitting  topics  which  occupy  for 
a  day  the  public  mind,  not  on  the  flimsy  literature  which  issues  in  an 
unfailing  stream  from  our  national  press,  not  upon  the  insipid  grati- 
fications which  general  society  can  offer.  "Break,"  I  would  say 
with  the  poet,  "  through  the  trammels  of  such  chilling  cares,  and 
follow  the  guidance  of  heavenly  wisdom,  that  we  may  be  an  honor  to 
our  country,  and  possess  a  fund  of  happiness  within  ourselves." 

"  Quod  si 

Frigida  curarum  fornenta  reiinquere  posses, 
Quo  te  ccEJestis  sapientia  duceret,  ires. 
Hoc  opus,  hoc  studium  parvi  properemus  et  anipli, 
Si  patriae  volumus,  si  nobis  vivere  cari.";^ 

Yes;  parvi  properemus  et  ampli;  let  all,  great  and  little,  forward 
this  noble  work.  It  is  in  every  one's  power  so  to  order  his  literary 
occupation  as  to  render  it  subservient  to  his  religious  improvement, 
to  the  strengthening  of  his  own  solemn  convictions  ;  even  though  he 
be  not  blessed  with  talents  sufficient  to  add  unto  the  sum  of  general 

*  Virgil  Georg.  i.  121. 

f  "  Ac  rnea  quidem  sententia,  nemo  poterit  esseomni  laude  cumula- 
tus  orator,  nisi  erit  oinniuin  reruni  magnarum  atque  artium  scientiam 
consequutus."     De  Orat.  Lib.  i.  p.  89  ed.  cit. 

\  "  Discitnr  innocuas  ut  agat  facundia  causas  ; 
Protegit  heec  sontes,  itnmeritosque  prernit." 

Trist.  ii.  273. 
§  "  Horace  Epist."  I.  i.  ep   iii.  25. 


39G  LECTURE    THE     TWELFTH. 

evidence,  for  the  public  benefit.  For,  if  few  are  destined  by  Divine 
Providence,  to  be  as  burning  lights  in  his  Church,  not  to  be  hidden 
under  the  bushel,  yet  hath  each  one  a  virginal  lamp  to  trim,  a  small 
but  precious  light  to  keep  burning  within  his  soul,  by  feeding  it  ever 
with  fresh  oil,  that  it  may  guide  him  through  his  rugged  path,  and 
be  not  found  dim  and  clogged  when  the  bridegroom  shall  come. 

And  yet  I  know  not  wiiy  any  one  who  possesses  but  ordinary 
abilities,  may  not  hope,  by  persevering  diligence,  somewhat  to  en- 
large the  evidences  of  truth.  There  are  humble  departments  in  this 
as  in  every  other  art ;  there  are  calm,  retired  walks,  which  lead  not 
beyond  the  precincts  of  domestic  privacy,  over  which  the  timid  may 
wander,  and,  without  exposure  to  the  public  gaze,  gather  sweet  and 
lowly  herbs,  that  shall  be  as  fragrant  on  the  altar  of  God,  as  the  cost- 
ly perfume  which  Bezaleel  and  Aholiab  compounded  with  so  much 
art.*  The  painted  shell  which  the  child  picks  up  on  the  hill  side, 
may  well  be  sometimes  as  good  evidence  of  a  great  catastrophe,  as 
the  huge  bones  of  sea  monsters,  which  the  naturalist  digs  out  of  the 
limestone  rock  ;  a  little  medal  may  attest  the  destruction  of  an  em- 
pire, as  certainly  as  the  obelisk  or  triumphal  arch.  "  While  others," 
says  St.  Jerome,  "  contribute  their  gold  and  their  silver  to  the  service 
of  the  tabernacle,  why  should  not  1  contribute  my  humble  offerings, 
at  least  of  hair  and  skins  ?"t  To  this  beautiful  figure,  which  each 
one  may  utter  in  his  own  name,  I  will  only  add,  that  while  the  gold 
and  silver  are  for  the  ornament  of  God's  house,  those  humbler  gifts — 
the  skins  and  hair-cloth — are  for  its  shelter  and  protection. 

You  all,  1  doubt  not,  have  often  admired  those  exquisite  paintings 
on  the  ceilings  of  the  Borgia  apartments  in  the  Vatican,  wherein  the 
sciences  are  rejiresented  as  holding  their  separate  courts  ;  each  en- 
throned upon  a  stately  chair,  with  features  and  mien  of  the  most 
noble  and  dignified  beauty,  surrounded  by  the  emblems  and  most 
distinoruished  representatives  of  its  power  on  earth,  and  seeming  to 
claim  homage  from  all  that  gaze  upon  it.  And  judge  what  would 
have  been  the  painter's  conception,  and  to  what  a  sublimity  of  ex- 
pression he  would  have  risen,  iiad  it  been  his  task  to  represent  that 
noblest  of  all  sciences,  our  divine  religion,  enthroned,  as  ever  be- 
comes her,  to  receive  the  fealty  and  worship  of  those  her  handmaids. 
For  if,  as  hath  been  proved,  they  are  but  ministers  unto  her  superior 
rule,  and  are  intended  to  furnish  the  evidences  of  her  authority,  how 

•  Rxod.  30:  35:31.  11. 

t  '•  Prologus  Galcalu.^,'"  pi cii.\c(l  to  ihc  Xui-nuc. 


co^•CLUSIO^■. 


397 


much  above  theirs  must  be  the  comeliness  and  grace,  and  majesty 
and  holiness,  with  which  she  must  be  arrayed !  And  what  honor 
and  dignity  must  be  conferred  on  him  who  feels  himself  deputed  to 
bear  the  tribute  of  any  of  these  fair  vassals  ;  and  how  must  his  ad- 
miration of  their  queen  be  enhanced,  by  finding  himself  thus  brought 
so  near  unto  her  presence  ! 

But  whosoever  shall  try  to  cultivate  a  wider  field,  and  follow,  from 
day  to  day,  as  humbly  we  have  striven  here  to  do,  the  constant  pro- 
gress of  every  science,  careful  ever  to  note  the   influence  which  it 
exercises  on  his  more  sacted  knowledge,  shall  have  therein  such 
pure  joy,  and  such  growing  comfort,  as  the  disappointing  eagerness 
of  mere  human  learning  may  not  supply.     Such  a  one  I  know  not 
unto  whom  to  liken,  save  to  one  who  unites  an  enthusiastic  love  of 
nature's  charms,  to  a  sufficient  acquaintance  with  her  laws,  and 
spends  his  days  in  a  garden  of  the  choicest  bloom.     And   here  he 
seeth  one  gorgeous  flower,  that  has   unclasped  all  its  beauty  to  the 
glorious  sun  ;  and  there  another  is  just  about  to  disclose  its  modester 
blossom,  not  yet  fully  unfolded  :  and  beside  them,  there  is  one  only 
in  the  hand  stem,  giving  but  slender  promise  of  much  display ;  and 
yet  he  waiteth  patiently,  well   knowing  that  the  law  is  fixed  whereby 
it  too  shall  pay,  in  due  season,  its  tribute  to  the  light  and  heat  that 
feed  it.     Even  so,  the  other  doth  likewise  behold   one  science  after 
the  other,  when  its  appointed  hour  is  come,  and  its  ripening  influen- 
ces have  prevailed,  unclose  some  form  which  shall   add  to  the  varied 
harmony  of  universal  truth,  which  shall   recompense,  to  the  full,  the 
genial  power  that  hath  given  it  life,  and,  however  barren  it  may  have 
seemed  at  first,  produce  somethin-^  that  may  adorn  the  temple  and 
altar  of  God's  worship. 

And  if  he  carefully  register  his  nwn  convictions,  and  add  them  to 
the  collections  already  formed,  of  various,  converging  proof,  he  as- 
suredly will  have  accomplished  the  noblest  end  for  which  man  may 
live  and  acquire  learning,  his  own  improvement,  and  the  benefit 
of  his  kind.  For,  as  an  old  and  wise  poet  has  written,  after  a  wiser 
saint: — 

"The  chief  use  then  in  man  of  that  he  kiiowes, 

Is  his  paines-takiiig  for  the  good  of  all, 

Not  fleshly  weeping  for  our  ovvu  made  woes, 

Not  laughing  from  a  melanclioly  gall. 

Not  fiiil'me  from  a  soul  thai  overflowcs 


398  LECTURE  THE  TWELFTH. 

With  bitterness  breathed  out  frotii  inward  tlirall ; 
But  sweetly  rather  to  ease,  loose,  or  binde, 
As  need  requires,  this  fraiie  fallen  human  kiride." 

"  Yet  some  seeke  knowledge,  meerely  to  be  knowne, 

And  idle  curiosity  that  is ; 

Some  but  to  sell,  not  freely  to  bestow, 

These  gaine  and  spend  both  time  and  wealth  amisse, 

Emhasing  arts,  by  basely  deeming  so  : 

Some  to  build  others,  which  is  charitie  ; 

But  these  to  build  themselves  who  wise  men  be."* 

When  learning  shall  once  have  been  consecrated  by  such  high 
motives,  it  will  soon  be  hallowed  by  purer  feelings,  and  assume  a 
calmer  and  more  virtuous  character  than  human  knowledge  can  ever 
possess.  An  enthusiastic  love  of  truth  will  be  engendered  in  the 
soul,  which  will  extinguish  every  meaner  and  more  earthly  feeling  in 
its  pursuit.  We  shall  never  look  with  a  partisan's  eye  upon  the 
cause,  nor  estimate  it  by  personal  motives,  but,  following  the  advice 
of  the  excellent  Schlegel,  we  shall  "  eschew  all  sorts  of  useless  con- 
tention, and  uncharitable  hate,  and  strive  to  keep  alive  a  spirit  of  love 
and  unity. "t  We  shall  consider  the  cause  as  too  sacred  to  be  con- 
ducted under  the  influence,  or  with  the  aid,  of  human  passions.  In 
the  words  of  the  poet  it  will  seem  to  address  us  ;  inciting  us  indeed 
to  seek  victory,  but  only  in  the  power  of  God  : 

BovXovxgattiv  fisv,  ^vv  Osm  d'as  xgaxsiv.l 

But  these  motives  will  have  a  still  stronger  power  ;  they  will  in- 
sure us  success.  For  if  once  a  pure  love  and  unmixed  admiration  of 
religion  animate  our  efforts,  we  shall  find  ourselves  inflamed  with  a 
chivalrous  devotion  to  her  service,  which  will   make  us  indefatigable 


*  Lord  Brooke,  "Treatise  of  Humane  Learning."  These  lines  are 
but  a  paraphrase  of  the  following  beautiful  passage  of  St.  Bernard  : — 
"Sunt  namque  qui  scire  volunt  eo  tantum  fine  ut  sciant,  et  turpis 
curiositas  est.  Et  sunt  qui  scire  volunt,  ut  sciantur  ipsi,  et  turpis  vani- 
tas  est.  Et  sunt  item  qui  scire  volunt,  ut  scientiam  suam  vendant,  verbi 
causa  pro  pecunia,  pro  honoribus,  et  turpis  quaestus  est.  Sed  sunt  quo- 
que  qui  scire  volunt  ut  aedificent,  et  charitas  est.  Et  item  qui  scire 
volunt  ut  pedificentur,  et  prudcntia  est."     Sermo  36,  super  Cant.  p.  608. 

t  "Philosophische  Vorlesungen,"  p.  265. 

I  Softhooles,  "  Ajax,"  764. 


CONCLUSION.  399 

and  unconquerable,  when  armed  in  her  defence.  Our  quest  may  be 
long  and  perilous,  there  may  come  in  our  way,  enchantments  and 
sorceries,  giants  and  monsters,  allurements  and  resistance  ;  but  on- 
ward we  shall  advance,  in  the  confidence  of  our  cause's  strength  ; 
we  shall  dispel  every  phantasm,  and  fairly  meet  every  substantial  foe, 
and  the  crown  will  infallibly  be  ours.  In  other  words,  we  shall  sub- 
mit with  patience  to  all  the  irksomeness  which  such  detailed  ex- 
amination may  cause ;  when  any  objection  is  brought,  instead  of 
contenting  ourselves  with  vague  replies,  we  shall  at  once  examine 
the  very  department  of  learning,  sacred  or  profane,  whence  it  hath 
been  drawn  ;  we  shall  sit  down  calmly,  and  address  ourselves  meekly 
to  the  toilsome  work  ;  we  shall  endeavor  to  unravel  all  its  intricacies, 
and  diligently  to  untie  every  knot ;  and  I  promise  you,  that  however 
hopeless  your  task  may  have  appeared  at  first,  the  result  of  your  ex- 
ertions will  be  surely  recorded  in  the  short  expressive  legend,  preser- 
ved on  an  ancient  gem,  which  I  trust  I  may  consider  as  the  summary 
and  epilogue  of  these  ray  Lectures  ; 

"  RELIGIO  VICISTI." 

RELIGION,    THOU    HAST    CONQUERED  ! 


NOTE, 

Referred  to  in  Page  62,  on  the  conformity  between  the  Semitic  and 
the  Indo-European  grammatical  forms. 


It  will  have  been  observed  by  the  reader,  that  the  personal  pro- 
nouns are  among  the  most  important  elements  employed  by  ethno- 
graphers for  determining  the  affinities  of  hajaguages,  and  in  the 
foregoing  lecture  it  has  been  shown  what  important  conclusions 
Lepsius  has  drawn  from  the  marked  resemblance  between  the 
Egyptian  and  Hebrew  pronouns  and  suffixes.  Dr.  Prichard,  in  his 
Appendix  before  referred  to,  at  the  end  of  his  Eastern  Origin,  etc., 
has,  indeed,  compared  some  of  the  Hebrew  with  the  Indo-European 
pronouns,  i^PiN — atta  with  tu,  etc.  But  it  appears  to  me  that  a  more 
minute  analysis  of  this,  and  the  other  pronouns,  will  lead  to  more 
satisfactory  conclusions. 

When  we  discover  a  portion  of  each  word  in  a  particular  class  to 
be  always  identical,  while  the  rest  varies,  we  may  justly  conclude 
that  it  forms  only  a  generic  characteristic,  which  may  safely  be 
omitted  in  studying  the  specific  determination  of  the  word,  or  in 
comparing  it  with  other  languages.  Thus  in  Sanskrit,  the  pronoun 
of  the  first  person  is  aham  ;  that  of  the  second,  tuam ;  whence  Bopp 
justly  considers  the  syllable  am  as  merely  generic,  and  reduces  the 
essential  parts  to  ah  and  tu,  corresponding,  the  first  to  the  Old  Ger- 
man ih,  Latin  ego ;  the  second  to  the  Latin  tu,  the  Persian  ^^i — to 
or  <M,  and  German  du.  "^ 

Now  it  seems  to  me  that  the  Semitic  pronouns  are  involved  in  a 
similar  composition,  which  should  be  unravelled  before  we  can  ex- 
pect to  reach  their  characteristic  parts,  and  this  can  only  be  seen  by 
comparing  forms,  now  lost  in  some  of  the  dialects,  but  preserved  in 
others.  The  syllable  which  we  shall  thus  find  common  to  all  the 
persons  in  both  numbers  is  ]N,  differently  pronounced  an  or  en,  ac- 
cording to  the  tendency  of  the  different  dialects,  but  always  com- 
posed of  the  same  two  letters,  aleph  and  nun. 

The  pronoun  of  the  first  Pers.  sing,  is  in  Heb.  ""DilN — AN-ochi, 
abbreviated  into  "'li* — AN-i ;  in  Chaldaic,  NjN — AN-a;  in  Syriac, 
5U 


402 


FT — EN-o  ;  in  Arabic,  \j\ — EN-a.     The  plurals  are  respectively, 
Heb.   "3n:N — AN-achnu ;    Chald.  and  Samar.  "jSN — AN-an  ;    Syr. 
'    — chnan ;  Ar.  , .vs;— N-achna*     In  the  two  last,  the  performa- 
tive syllable  has  been  more  or  less  lost. 

The  pronouns  of  the  second  person  are  in  Heb.  (omitting  for 
brevity's  sake  the  feminines,  which  follow  the  masculine  by  rule) 
NPiX — atta,  sing. ;  and  nriN — attem,  plur. :  but  in  the  first  T,  ex- 
pressed in  Hebrew  only  by  a  sign  of  duplication,  there  lurks  a  sup- 
pressed N,  so  that  all  grammarians  agree  that  these  forms  stand  for 
{<n:N — AN-ta,  and  nroN — AN-tem.  This  is  placed  beyond  doubt 
by  the  other  dialects  ;  Chald  n:N — AN-t,  and  ]in;N — AN-tun  ;  Syr. 

Aji — AN-t,    oZjj — AN-tun;  (though  a  stroke  over  the  ^jor  N, 
indicates  that  the  letter  has  not  to  be  pronounced,  thus  connecting 

the  other  dialects  with  the  Hebrew)   Arab,  ^jf — EN-ta  j^Xi)— 
EN- torn. 

In  the  third  person,  the  Hebrew  and  Arabic  have  entirely  lost  the 
compounding  particle,  or  rather  have  adopted  a  different  pronoun  ; 
but  it  has  been  carefully  preserved  by  the  Syriac  in  the  plural,  and 
by  the  Chaldaic  in  both  numbers.  Thus  Chald.  i<3N — IN-e,  sing.  ; 
•j!]3N — IN-un,  pi.  masc,  "J'^SN — IN-e(i)n,  fern.  In  which  words  the 
alcph  is  pointed   by  I,  on  account  of  the  reduplications  of  the  N  : 

Syr.^Qjl — EN-un,  pi.  masc,  ^^jj — EN-e(i)n. 

From  this  analysis  it  would  appear  that  the  syllable  ]N,  is  merely 
a  generic  particle,  forming  no  essential  portion  of  any  pronoun,  but 
common  to  all  the  persons  :  and  consequently  that  it  may,  and  ought 
to  be  detached  from  them,  before  we  can  reach  the  peculiar  or  es- 
sential substance  of  each.  For  in  a  much  more  marked  manner  than 
the  Sanskrit  am,  it  pervades  all  the  pronouns  of  whatever  number, 
gender,  or  person. 

If  we  apply  this  system  to  the  pronoun  of  the  first  person  singular, 
we  have  the  essential  portion  of  it  in  Hebrew,  for  in  all  the  other 
dialects  it  is  found  only  in  its  abbreviated  form,  "^31 — OCHI,  which 
may  fairly  be  compared  to  the  Sanskrit  ah-nm,  or  the  German  ich. 
Even  the  abbreviated  form  I  (AN-I)  will  bear  a  sufficient  resem- 
blance to  the  old  German  ih. 

Proceeding  to  the  plural,  it  would  appear  that  the  radical  portion 
4>f  the  Hebrew  pronoun  is  ylCHNU  ;  the  first  part  of  which  seems  to 


403 

arise  from  the  aspirate  C  or  n  in  the  singular,  here  transmuted  into 
a  pure  guttural.  If  so,  the  portion  of  the  pronoun  strictly  denoting 
the  plural  number  would  be  NU,  and  we  have  the  gradations  from 
the  fuller  to  the  abridged  form  in  the  other  dialects,  Arab.  (N) 
ACH-NA  ;  Syr.  CH-NAN ;  Chald.  (AN)  AN.  From  this  scale  it 
would  appear  that  NU,  NA,  or  N,  are  the  characteristics  of  the  first 
person  plural ;  and  this  gives  us  a  very  singular  coincidence  with  the 
Sanskrit  and  Greek  duals  nou  and  vbi'i,  and  the  Latin  plural  nos. 

In  the  second  person  the  resemblance  is  still  more  marked  ;  for 
upon  stripping  off  the  generic  syllable,  the  pronoun  is  reduced  to  T  A 
in  Hebrew  and  Arabic,  and  into  T  in  Chaldaic  and  Syriac,  which 
sufficiently  agrees  with  the  Sanskrit  <«-am,  gen.  tai,  the  Latin  and 
Persian  tu,  and  German  du.  The  plural  is  formed  from  the  singular 
by  ordinary  rule. 

When  I  analyzed  the  pronouns  of  the  third  persons  in  Syro- 
Chaldaic,  it  was  simply  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  the  constant 
recurrence,  through  the  entire  pro-nominal  system,  of  the  compound- 
ing particle.  But  the  comparison  between  the  pronouns  of  this  per- 
son will  appear  not  less  striking  than  the  foregoing,  if  we  examine 
the  forms  preserved  in  the  Hebrew  and  Arabic,  and  in  the  Syriac 
singular.     The  masc.  sing,  is  in  the  first  NW — HU  ;  in  the  second, 

^^ — hua;  in  the  third  ccn — hu.  With  these  we  may  compare  the 
Persian,! — o;  the  Welsh  evo,  which,  in  the  suffix,  changes  like 
Hebrew  into  mc  or  o  ;  the  Latin  hie,  Jiujvs,  hi ;  and  the  English  he. 
The  feminine  is  the  same  in  all  :  NTT  ^ib  «ind  uaO? — HI.  It  is 
precisely  the  same  in  Welsh,  in  which  hi  is  the  third  person  feminine. 
The  plural  nn— HEM,  or  its  feminine  ]-— HEN,  or  the  Syriac  ^qjJ 
— EN-UN,  may  be,  perhaps,  compared  with  the  corresponding 
Welsh  hwynt. 

I  put  forward  these  conjectures  with  becoming  reserve.  I  have 
seen  too  often  how  sadly  an  ingenious  theory  may  seduce  its  author 
into  the  mistaking  of  casual  or  imaginary  resemblances  for  real  analo- 
gies, not  to  put  myself  doubly  on  my  guard,  where  any  new  and  arti- 
ficial view  strikes  my  mind.  Still  I  cannot  but  think  that  the  pro- 
cess I  have  followed,  and  the  affinities  which  it  has  opened,  are  not 
unworthy  of  attention,  from  the  uniformity  discernible  in  the  whole 
sphere  of  their  action.     If  so,  we  have  a  new  and  important  point  of 


404 

contact  between  the  two  great  families,  based  upon  the  grammatical 
analysis  of  the  primary  elements  of  speech. 

There  are  other  investigations  which  I  think  worthy  of  being 
made,  from  the  probability  of  their  leading  to  the  same  lesults  :  but 
for  the  present  the  foregoing  may  suffice.  I  will  only  remark,  that 
traces  appear  to  exist  in  the  Semitic  dialects,  of  what  is  generally 
considered  more  peculiar  to  the  other  family,  conjugation  by  auxiliary 
verbs.  For  the  passive  voices  in  Chaldaic  and  Syriac,  Ithpael,  Eth- 
pael,  Ethpaal,  and  Ettaphel,  seem  clearly  to  have  sprung  from  the 

union  of  the  verb  substantive  n"'Jt,  Z)] — i7A,  of  which  traces  are  found 
in  the  Hebrew  n"*? — la-ith,  it  is  not,  and  in  the  determinative  parti- 
cles ns — eth,  and  Aj — yoth,  with  the  indefinite  verb. 


THE    END. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Libraries 


1    1012  01247   9780 


/   ! 


Q 


..m^^'^-% 


^\  * 


-^i. 


v^*  -^ 


V  .^ 


'-^'. 


^  ^y^. 


"W^ 


>^ 


^  v-^ 


'rrt^^ 


^-^ 
^ 


*vv 


^•'' 


1.  ^.;i^ 


^ycM^ 


"i^m 


MafciiJh-W 


